Support across employee benefits and tax matters

Colleen Essid counsels clients on a variety of employee benefits and tax matters, including executive compensation and tax controversy matters. She advises an array of clients, including private and public companies and tax-exempt organizations. Her experience encompasses:

• Fringe benefit plan design and taxation
• Executive compensation plans, including profits interests, equity, phantom equity plans and Code Section 409A compliance
• Federal income, payroll tax, and state and local tax analysis
• Cross-border transactions and multijurisdictional analysis
• Tax-qualified retirement plan, including compliance with complex tax rules and IRS correction program parameters
• Nonprofit retirement plan and executive compensation, including tax aspects of 403(b), 457(b) and 457(f) plans
• Affordable Care Act compliance, reporting requirements and penalty abatement

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Missouri

Education

• Creighton University (B.A., summa cum laude, 2012)

• Saint Louis University School of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 2023)
  • International and Comparative Law Concentration
  • Saint Louis University Law Journal, staff editor
  • 1843 Scholar
  • 12 Academic Excellence Awards for Highest Grade in Class
  • Woolsack Honor Society

• Webster University (M.B.A., 2017)

• 2023 Year-End Employee Benefits Updates
• Deadline for Employers to Comply with Reproductive Health Care Privacy Changes - Dec. 22, 2024
• Employer Provided Work-Life Referral Programs Considered Nontaxable Fringe Benefit
• Employer's Duty to Monitor Retirement Plan's New Investment Advice Fiduciaries
• Final Anti-Discrimination Rule Protecting Gender Identity May Indirectly Impact Employer Health Plans
• Final Rule under MHPAEA Clarifies NQTL Comparative Analysis Requirement
• Forfeiture Funds: Legal Requirements, Permitted Uses, and Litigation Risk Management
• IRS Releases 2025 Limits for Benefit Plans
• Key SECURE 2.0 Act Updates for Defined Contribution Retirement Plans
• Limited Guidance on "No Tax on Tips" and "No Tax on Overtime" Deductions
• Navigating Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Relief: IRS Notice 2024-35
• SECURE 2.0 Act Retirement Plan Update: Roth Catch-Up Contributions in 2026
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Changes to Certain Workplace Benefits
• The Top Five H-1B Cap Post-Season Considerations for Employers
• Uncertain Future for ACA Preventive Services Mandate
• Uncertainty on Health Care Rules Amid Administration Change
• Year-End Corporate Transparency Act Reporting - Benefits Highlights

Seminar

• Employer Health Plans: A New Arena for ERISA Fee Litigation