Bill G. Freudenrich

Bill Freudenrich is an employee benefits attorney with specific expertise in retirement plan design, deferred compensation, mergers and acquisitions, plan terminations, leased employees, self-insured medical plan design, wellness programs, COBRA and HIPAA compliance.

Bill represents both multi-employer plans and participating employers on funding issues concerning withdrawal liability, reorganization issues and collection of delinquent contributions. He has advised lending institutions of the risk associated with loans to employers that participate in multi-employer plans. Bill also provides ongoing counseling to multiple tax-exempt and governmental healthcare institutions in the areas of open meeting requirements, executive compensation, Section 403(b), Section 457(f), Section 457(b) and Section 401(a).

Working with clients to make well-informed, strategic decisions regarding employer-sponsored health and wellness plans is central to Bill’s practice, particularly in light of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In addition to regularly assisting clients in designing, analyzing and implementing cost-containment strategies, he frequently counsels clients of all sizes on a broad range of legal, tax and cost-benefit matters related to health care reform, including “play or pay,” health care exchanges, changes to flexible spending accounts, and a myriad of other issues required to maintain legal compliance. Bill is particularly regarded for his keen understanding of the issues and practical advice.

Bill's achievements have earned him inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (employee benefits/ERISA law) and Oklahoma Super Lawyers, which recognizes the state's top 5 percent of Oklahoma attorneys in more than 60 practice areas.

• Counseled multi-employer plans on the requirements of withdrawal liability, collection of delinquent contributions, funding requirements and prohibited transactions.
• Counseled trustees of multi-employer plans on issues concerning fee disclosures and conflicts of interest among providers and assisted trustees in preparing requests for proposal (RFPs) for vendor searches.
• Counseled financial institutions on the risks associated with loans to employers that are subject to collective bargaining agreements.
• Performed forensic qualified plan audits to determine total plan expenses.
• Designed and drafted deferred compensation plans for both tax-exempt and corporate entities.
• Assisted clients with the rehabilitation of qualified retirement plans that have incurred a "qualification" failure through the IRS EPCRS program.
• Counseled employers on the design, drafting and administration of self-insured medical plans and qualified retirement plans.
• Counseled collectively bargained multi-employer retirement plans on compliance with the Taft-Hartley Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and IRS Tax Code.
• Assisted employers in the preparation of requests for proposal (RFPs) in the selection of third-party administrators (TPAs), registered investment advisors (RIAs) and custodians for qualified retirement plans.
• Assisted in complex litigation of employee benefit issues, including but not limited to, TPA negligence, multiple employer welfare associations (MEWAs), insolvency, disability claims, breach of fiduciary duty claims, prohibited transactions, determination of ERISA vs. governmental status, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) valuation issues.