Jonathan
A.
Kenter
Partner
Practice Group Leader
New York
Business Phone:
212.704.6100
Business Fax:
212.704.8388
jonathan.kenter@troutmansanders.com
Vcard
Jonathan is a partner and co-Practice Group Leader in the firm’s Compensation & Employee Benefits Practice Group. He represents large public and privately held companies in a broad array of employee benefit and executive compensation matters including employment and severance agreements, regulatory compliance, corporate transactions and dispute resolution. He has developed a particular expertise in benefits integration and disintegration arising out of corporate transactions.
Jonathan has practiced extensively before the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. With over 25 years in the benefits field, both as an attorney and actuarial assistant / record keeper, Jonathan brings a unique perspective to the Compensation & Employee Benefits Practice Group. He routinely provides clients with risk assessments enabling management to make difficult decisions in a complex area of the law.
Representative Matters
Represent Administrative Committees of large public companies in the administration of all aspects of qualified, nonqualified and welfare benefit plans
Designed early retirement windows for public companies involving enhanced benefits under qualified defined benefit plan, nonqualified supplemental executive retirement plan, severance and COBRA reimbursement components
Negotiated benefits aspects of $900 million sale of gas pipeline, including 280G and retiree medical benefit issues and underfunded defined benefit pension plan liabilities
Consolidated 401(k) and welfare benefit plans of seven affiliates of a large public telecom
Extensive experience in the negotiation and drafting of employment agreements for the chief executive officers of public companies both on behalf of the executive and the company
Counsel to sponsor of a terminating under-funded multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan
Redesigned a variety of nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements to comply with Code Section 409A
Negotiated numerous Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service audits of qualified plans
Won summary judgment in litigation of benefit denials on behalf of U.S. Bank, as trustee of the Chock full o’Nuts Corporation Benefits Protection Trust for former executives and employees of company who were denied enhanced pension benefits following hostile takeover by Sara Lee Corp. Last in series of cases, all of which settled favorably to former employees. See Rubio v. Chock Full O'Nuts Corp., 254 F. Supp. 2d 413 (S.D.N.Y. 2003), argued and won motion that exhausting administrative remedies would be futile, Sadowski v. Chock Full O'Nuts Corp., Case No. 04 CV 2724 (JAP) (MCA).
Curtailed retiree medical benefit programs for numerous public companies
Defended ERISA fiduciary breach claims asserted in litigation of life insurance benefit denial
Other Distinctions
Directorship, American Friends of Alyn Hospital, New York, New York
Work Experience
Partner, Troutman Sanders LLP, 2007-present
Partner, Bingham Mccutchen LLP, 2001-2007
Associate, Shea & Gould, 1988-1994
Associate, Epstein, Becker and Green, 1985 -1988