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Ronald L. Kahn
Partner

Chair, Tax Practice Group
Member, Retirement Plan Committee
Employee Benefits/ERISA
ERISA Litigation
Executive & Incentive Compensation 
General Taxation
more

Cleveland Office
p 216.583.7018
f 216.583.7019
rkahn@ulmer.com
At a Glance
Chair of the Tax Practice Group, Ron has over 30 years legal experience. In addition to taxation, his practice concentration includes employee benefits (including ESOPs), executive compensation, ERISA litigation, employment law, health care law, estate planning and corporate law. Throughout his career, he has advised businesses of all sizes on the design and maintenance of various employee pension and welfare benefit programs. He is named in The Best Lawyers in America®, Employee Benefits Law (1995-2012).
Education
University of Pennsylvania (B.S., 1968)

The University of Michigan Law School (J.D., 1973)
Practices/Industries
Areas of Concentration
  • Employee Benefits
  • Employment Law
  • Health Care Law
  • Estate Planning
  • Taxation
  • Corporate Law
Representative Experience
  • Has over 30 years experience in advising businesses of all sizes with respect to the design and maintenance of various forms of employee pension and welfare benefit programs, including qualified retirement plans [such as pension, profit-sharing, 401(k) and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)], nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, VEBAs and cafeteria plans.
  • Has over 30 years experience in advising clients with respect to fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction issues under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code and has served as an expert witness in litigation involving claims of breaches of fiduciary duties and violations of prohibited transaction rules.
  • Has over 30 years experience counseling retirement plan fiduciaries and IRA owners with respect to investment considerations concerning unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) and unrelated debt-financed income (UDFI).
  • Represents publicly held companies with respect to nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, management incentive compensation plans, and directors’ deferred compensation programs.
  • Represents investment committees of public company retirement plans regarding various issues, including hedge fund investments and requirements regarding qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs).
  • Represents public company executives in connection with negotiation of employment agreements, severance agreements, and nonqualified deferred compensation agreements (including 409A compliance).
  • Has over 30 years experience in advising individuals and businesses with respect to business succession planning and planning for separation from employment, including structuring nonqualified plans of deferred compensation, consulting agreements and noncompete agreements.
  • Has over 30 years experience in advising individuals with regard to tax planning matters, including planning for distributions from retirement plans and IRAs and structuring qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs) with respect to the disposition of retirement plan benefits upon divorce or separation.
  • Has over 30 years experience representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor in connection with plan qualification and audit issues.
  • Represents clients, including a Fortune 200 company, in connection with withdrawal liability assessments by multiemployer pension funds under MPPAA.
  • Represents professional corporations in connection with the purchase and sale of practices and affiliations with health care organizations and networks.
  • Represents closely-held businesses in connection with ongoing corporate matters, including employment issues and share redemption planning.
  • Has over 30 years experience in assisting clients with trust and estate planning.
Honors/Distinctions

AV Rated - Martindale-Hubbell

Named to The Best Lawyers in America®, Employee Benefits Law, Woodward/White (1995-2012)

Ranked as one of Ohio's leading Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation lawyers by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2006-2011)

Named an "Ohio Super Lawyer" in a survey of Ohio lawyers by Law & Politics and Cincinnati magazines (2004-2009, 2011, 2012)

Named a "Top Lawyer" by Northern Ohio Live magazine (August 2003)

Publications/Presentations

Fiduciary Responsibility and Prohibited Transactions
“Fiduciary Responsibility,” (co-presenter), Benefits Resource Group Beyond Benefits Seminar Series (October 2009)

Qualified Plan Design & Compliance
“Pension Protection Act of 2006 Provisions Pertaining to Defined Contribution Plans – How They Affect Sponsors and Participants”, Szarka Financial Management 401(k) Summit (July 2008)

“Employee Benefits Issues Likely to Hit a Nerve with Dentists in 2006”, Presentation to Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity (March 2006)

 

Executive Compensation
“409A – Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans – Focus on Specifics”, Ulmer & Berne LLP Client Seminar on Executive Compensation and the New 409A Regulations (May 2007)

“Section 409A – Treading Water in the Sea Change of Rules for Taxation of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation until the Service Throws in the Final Regs”, Executive Compensation Panel of 2006 Cleveland Tax Institute (October 2006)

“Tsunamic Impact of Section 409A – A Sea Change in the Rules for Taxation of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans and a Tidal Wave of IRS Guidance”, Executive Compensation Panel of 2005 Cleveland Tax Institute (November 2005)

“ISOmetrics – Treasury Regs Push Edge of Exercise Program for Employees Flexing Muscles Over Equity-Based Compensation”, Executive Compensation Panel of 2003 Cleveland Tax Institute (October 2003)

“Executives, Putting Less Stock in Options, Say:  Show me the Money – A Review of Non-Equity, Nonqualified Deferred Compensation and Cash Benefits”, Executive Compensation Panel of 2002 Cleveland Tax Institute (November 2002)

“Divergent Path Taken by Service in Recent Rulings Puts Frost on Frequent Approach to Split-Dollar Life Insurance (and it may make all the difference)”, Current Developments Panel of 1997 Cleveland Tax Institute (October 1997)

“Evaluation of Two Executive Compensation Techniques – Reflecting on Mirror Plans and Taking Stock in Options”, Executive Compensation Panel of 1996 Cleveland Tax Institute (October 1996)

“Phantom of the Option and Other Performance-Based Incentive Programs by which Employers May Make Show of Appreciation”, Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Panel of the 1995 Cleveland Tax Institute (October 1995)

 

Mergers & Acquisitions
“Qualified Plans in Acquisitions and Dispositions”, ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland (April 1998)

 

Employee Pension and Welfare Benefits
“Cafeteria Plans, Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) and Other Pre-tax Welfare Benefit Programs”, (co-presenter), Lorman Education Services Seminar (March 2004)

“New Developments in Employee Benefits”, (co-presenter), Ulmer & Berne LLP Employee Benefits Forum (October 2000)

“Things to Do or Consider Doing in Employee Benefits to Usher in the New Millennium”, Ulmer & Berne LLP Employee Benefits Forum (September 1999)

“Cost Effective Methods for Small Businesses to Provide Employee Benefits”, Presentation to Ohio CPAs (April 1998) and to Council on Education in Management 1998 Benefits Update (June 1998)

“Independent Contractors, Seasonal Workers, and Temporary Employees:  Escaping the Misclassification Snares Before You Face Liability”, Council on Education in Management 1998 Benefits Update (June 1998)

“Recent Developments, Hot Topics and Planning Tips in Employee Benefits”, (co-presenter), Ulmer & Berne LLP Employee Benefits Forum (November 1997)

“Benefits Update:  New Federal Legislation Opens Floodgates for Employer Liability (Plus the Latest U.S. Supreme Court Rulings) and More”, Council on Education in Management 1997 Personnel Law Update (May 1997)

 

Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits
“How Safe are Your Retirement Plans, IRAs and Rollovers?”, McDonald & Company Investments, Inc. Seminar on Protecting Your Assets:  Is your Strategy Firmly in Place? (February 1995)

 

ESOPs
“Employee Stock Ownership Plans – An Overview of Issues to Consider”, Employee Benefits Council of Northeast Ohio (November 2004)

 

General Benefits Topics
“Alternative Investments and UBTI,” ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland Summer Workshop (June 2009)


Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association (Taxation and Corporate, Business and Banking Sections)

Ohio State Bar Association

Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (General Tax Committee, Cleveland Institute Executive Committee 1988-1992, Cleveland Tax Institute Chair 1990)
 
Great Lakes TE/GE IRS Advisory Council (terms 2001-2003; 2004-2006)

The ESOP Association

The National Center for Employee Ownership

Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB Cleveland)

Estate Planning Council of Cleveland

Community Involvement
Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland, Inc. (Founding and current Trustee and past President (1991-1994))
Admissions
State of Ohio

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Tax Court

U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio