Robert J. Stokes

Partner

Bob Stokes has practiced in all areas of employee benefits for close to 40 years.  His practice focuses on employee benefits and executive compensation, regulatory compliance, especially compliance with the fiduciary requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the benefits issues involved in corporate transactions.  Mr. Stokes counsels employers and administrators with respect to compliance with federal laws and regulations, and provides assistance in matters involving the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, including plan qualification, plan terminations, and prohibited transaction issues and exemptions.  A major part of his practice involves counseling clients on the fiduciary aspects of investing pension funds in real estate, private equity and other alternative investments, including hedge funds and swaps.

Mr. Stokes also advises individuals and corporations in complying with the requirements of section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, which r elates to nonqualified deferred compensation plans, and he works with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), employment and severance agreements, option and incentive plans, and the implementation of “Rabbi” trusts.

1700 Pacific Avenue
Suite 2250
Dallas, Texas 75201

Tel: (214) 217-8057
Fax: (214) 217-8861
Email: bstokes@cwlaw.com
Education:
  • New York University School of Law (LL.M., 1971)
  • Yale Law School (LL.B., 1967)
  • Boston College (B.S., magna cum laude, 1964)
Bar Admissions & Years:
  • New York State Bar - 1968
  • State Bar of Texas - 1994
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit - 1995
  • U.S. Tax Court - 1971
Memberships & Affiliations:
  • American Bar Association, Tax Section, Employee Benefits Committee
  • Texas State Bar Association
  • Dallas Bar Association
  • American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, Fellow
  • American College of Tax Counsel, Fellow
Other Distinctions:
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Employee Benefits Law) for over 20 years
  • Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly and Law & Politics magazines, 2003-2008
  • Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine, 2007-2008
  • Best Business Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine, 2009
Seminars & Lectures
  • An Update on the Use of Employee Benefit Plan Assets to Pay Plan Expenses, American Bar Association, Tax Section, Washington, D.C., Panelist, May 2001
  • Paying Plan Expenses: Employer Practices and DOL Investigations, American Bar Association, Tax Section, Scottsdale, Arizona, Panelist, February 2001
  • Retirement Plans for Nonprofit Organizations: Opportunities and Pitfalls, 12th Annual Nonprofit Organizations Institute, Houston, January 1995
  • Use of Broad-Based Rabbi Trusts as Feeder Entities for Various Employee Benefit Plans, Pension Plan Investments, Practicing Law Institute, New York, May 1993
Publications
  • "The QPAM Class Exemption: Not All It Appears to Be?" ERISA and Benefits Law Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1997
  • "IRS Alchemy: Treatment of Gain on the Sale of Unallocated ESOP Stock as an Annual Addition Under Section 415," ERISA and Benefits Law Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1995
  • "Practical Issues and Legal Ambiguities Relating to the ESOP Dividend Deduction," ERISA and Benefits Law Journal, May 1992