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Michelle Lara is Special Counsel in the Compensation & Benefits practice group and a member of the Cooley Business department. She joined the Firm in 2004 and is resident in the San Diego office.
Ms. Lara specializes in employee benefits and executive compensation matters for a wide variety of clients, including start-up enterprises and large, publicly traded companies. Ms. Lara advises clients with respect to the design, implementation and administration of tax-qualified plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, severance plans, stock option plans, other equity or cash based incentive plans and health and welfare plans, including related ERISA, COBRA, tax, securities, and corporate law compliance issues. Ms. Lara also advises clients on benefits and compensation issues arising in mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and other corporate transactions.
Ms. Lara is a frequent speaker at national, regional and local conferences and events for organizations such as the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA) and the Association of Biotechnology Financial Officers on various compensation matters, including the application of Section 409A to severance pay arrangements and traditional deferred compensation plans, the application of FAS 123(r) to share based awards, equity incentive plan issues, tax-qualified retirement plan issues, and other topics.
Prior to joining Cooley, Ms. Lara was an associate at Pillsbury Winthrop LLP in San Diego and Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP in San Diego.
Ms. Lara received a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 1998. She received a B.A. with highest distinction in general scholarship from the University of California at Berkeley in 1992.
Ms. Lara is currently on the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Chapter of NIPA and a member of the planning committee for the Los Angeles Benefits Conference (LABC).
Ms. Lara is a member of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA) and the San Diego Chapter of Western Pension & Benefits Conference.
Ms. Lara is a member of the State Bar of California.
Education- University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
JD, 1998 - University of California, Berkeley
BA, 1992
Admissions
Memberships
- National Association of Stock Plan Professionals
- National Institute of Pension Administrators
- Western Pension & Benefits Conference
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