James Deets
Alvarez & Marsal
James A. Deets is a Senior Director at Alvarez & Marsal in Dallas. He specializes in executive compensation, employee benefits and qualified retirement plans and has served as a consulting expert on employee benefits issues in the context of bankruptcy proceedings.
With over 20 years of experience, Mr. Deets’ expertise includes qualified plans, including nondiscrimination and other qualification issues, compliance and correction of plan defects, as well as health and welfare plans, including PPACA, FMLA, HIPAA and COBRA issues, cafeteria plans, retiree welfare benefits, VEBA trusts, severance plans and multiemployer welfare plans. He also has experience in executive compensation, nonqualified, stock, employee stock purchase, performance bonus and incentive, split dollar life insurance and top-hat plans.
Mr. Deets has also managed the benefits and executive compensation aspects of mergers and acquisitions, including the applicability and impact of the golden parachute rules. He has garnered considerable experience in ERISA litigation matters involving benefit claims, fiduciary breaches, subrogation/reimbursement and preemption issues.
Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Deets was Counsel in the Dallas office of Hunton & Williams LLP, where he focused his practice in the employee benefits and executive compensation area.
Mr. Deets earned a law degree with honors from the Baylor University Law School, where he was Assistant Managing Editor of the Baylor Law Review. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences from Baylor University, graduating summa cum laude, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Deets is a member of the State Bar of Texas. He serves on the Board of Directors of Legal Hospice of Texas and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, Southwestern Benefits Association, DallasHR and the Dallas Bar Association