Job Description
Location: Open to all office locations for a hybrid opportunity: Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Rochester (Pittsford), Syracuse, Long Island (Uniondale), and White Plains, NY; Hartford, New Haven and Stamford, CT; Boston, MA
Description: Harris Beach Murtha seeks an experienced ERISA/employee benefits attorney to join our Corporate Practice Group. The ideal candidate will bring 7–10 years of experience advising business clients on qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and the benefits side of M&A transactions. This role offers the opportunity for direct client engagement, collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, and representation before federal agencies such as the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
The ERISA/Employee Benefits Attorney will have the opportunity to:
- Advise business clients on complex compliance, regulatory and transactional matters, including the design, implementation, and ongoing compliance of qualified retirement plans and health and welfare benefit programs
- Provide strategic counsel on ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, ACA, HIPAA, COBRA, and related federal and state regulations
- Represent clients before the DOL, IRS, and PBGC in audits, investigations, compliance and plan terminations
- Draft and review plan documents, amendments, summary plan descriptions (SPDs), summaries of material modifications (SMMs), and other compliance-related communications
- Support business transactions with due diligence and integration of employee benefit plans
- Monitor legislative and regulatory developments and proactively advise clients on risk mitigation and compliance strategies
- Collaborate with attorneys in corporate, tax, and labor & employment practice groups to deliver integrated client service
Applications are encouraged and desired if you have: - 7–10+ years of ERISA and employee benefits experience, preferably in a law firm serving business clients
- Juris Doctorate from an ABA-accredited law school
- Admitted to the bar and in good standing
- Demonstrated experience with DOL, IRS, and PBGC interactions, including administrative proceedings
- Strong technical knowledge of retirement and health plan compliance
- Excellent legal research, writing, and client communication skills
- Ability to manage multiple client matters and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Familiarity with executive compensation and nonqualified plans
- Experience advising large, multi-state or multinational employers
- LL.M. in Taxation or Employee Benefits is a plus
- Military experience welcome
Salary information below will vary depending upon relevant experience for the position, book of business, and geographic locations. This role also offers an opportunity for performance-based bonus eligibility.
Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Rochester, Syracuse, NY: $155,000 - $200,000
Long Island (Uniondale) and White Plains, NY: $165,000 - $200,000
New York, NY: $170,000 - $200,000
Harris Beach Murtha is not accepting candidate submissions from recruiting agencies for this position during the first two weeks after posting. Following this period, agencies with an active fee agreement with the firm may reach out to our internal recruitment team at resumes@harrisbeachmurtha.com to inquire about potential collaboration for this position.
Harris Beach Murtha is committed to an inclusive environment and we welcome applications from diverse candidates with varied background and skills, including military experience. Harris Beach Murtha Cullina PLLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
About Harris Beach Murtha: Harris Beach Murtha formed in 2025 via the combination of Harris Beach PLLC and Murtha Cullina LLP. A forward-thinking and innovative partnership with the benefit of more than 250 years of combined history, Harris Beach Murtha’s New York roots reach back to 1856 and the firm has had ties to New England since 1936. Harris Beach and Murtha Cullina were separately among the country’s top law firms as ranked by The National Law Journal.
Harris Beach Murtha and its subsidiaries have a strong Northeast presence, but a global reach. Clients include Fortune 100 corporations, privately held companies, emerging businesses, public sector entities, tax-exempt organizations and individuals. The firm’s practice areas and industries served span appellate law, business litigation, commercial real estate, construction, corporate, environmental, energy, financial institutions, financial restructuring, government compliance and investigations, health care, immigration, intellectual property, labor and employment, mass torts, medical and life sciences, political law, product liability, public finance, tax, and trusts and estates.
The firm’s lawyers and consultants practice from offices throughout Connecticut in Bantam, Hartford, New Haven and Stamford; New York state in Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Long Island and White Plains, as well as in Boston, Massachusetts and Newark, New Jersey.
The firm’s policy prohibiting unlawful discrimination applies to all aspects of employment, including hiring, placement, assignment of duties, training, promotion, compensation & benefits and termination. It is the policy of Harris Beach Murtha Cullina PLLC that all applicants and employees enjoy a positive, respectful and productive work environment, free from behavior, actions or language constituting unlawful harassment. Accordingly, harassment or discrimination of any kind based on an individual’s race or color, sex, age, religion, national origin, marital status, disability, military status, genetic predisposition, carrier status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, creed, domestic violence victim status or any other legally protected status is strictly prohibited. Harris Beach Murtha complies with the provisions of the Human Rights Law, all other State and Federal statutory and constitutional non-discrimination provisions including non-discrimination on the basis of prior criminal conviction and prior arrest.
Job Tags
Full time, Work at office,