Brandon P. Long

Brandon Long is an experienced, AV Preeminent-rated employee benefits attorney and the leader of the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group, which is one of the largest and most experienced of its kind in the region. He represents regional and national clients with thousands of employees, including large publicly traded corporations and governmental entities. Clients seek his advice for practical, creative solutions to complex problems, as well as his ability to make highly technical concepts understandable to executives, employees and other lawyers. His achievements have earned him inclusion in the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America (employee benefits/ERISA law), and Oklahoma Super Lawyers.

Brandon is a frequent author and speaker on employee benefits topics nationwide and has played key advisory and leadership roles in a number of leading industry organizations.  In addition to serving on the board of directors and as immediate past president of the SouthWest Benefits Association, a 700-plus member organization based in Dallas, Texas, he serves on the steering committee of the Employee Benefits Institute based in Kansas City, Missouri, and is an appointed member of the Oklahoma Board on Legislative Compensation.  His passion for advocating for employer-sponsors of health plans also led him to co-found the Oklahoma Employers Healthcare Alliance, a statewide coalition committed to educating and empowering Oklahoma employers and their employees to make informed healthcare-related decisions, as well as promoting healthcare quality, cost-effectiveness, transparency and accountability.

Brandon’s practice is focused on matters involving qualified retirements plans, health and welfare plans, and executive compensation. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Brandon has counseled clients of all sizes on the interpretation and implementation of key compliance issues and cost-containment strategies.

A portion of his practice has been devoted to complex litigation, including ERISA litigation. In 2007, on behalf of a major insurance company, Brandon co-authored the petition for a writ of certiorari that was granted by the U.S. Supreme Court, and he helped prepare for and attended the oral argument in the Supreme Court, which issued an opinion in his client’s favor.

More than 20 years ago, Brandon started in the mail room of another large Oklahoma City firm, worked as a legal assistant while going to law school at night, and graduated ranked first in his law school class. Brandon then practiced with large national and international law firms in Dallas and Washington, D.C. before returning to his hometown and joining McAfee & Taft. He holds a master of laws in taxation from the Villanova University School of Law.