Bernard G. Peter Law Firm, P.C.

The Bernard G. Peter Law Firm, P.C. has over forty (40) years  of experience handling employee benefits issues, matters subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,  as Amended (ERISA), and executive compensation and employment situations.  His focus is to bring to the attention of his clients circumstances that could develop into problems before they become problems.   He believes strongly in the axiom that the client always comes first. 

Bernard Peter’s practice concentrates in employee benefits law and the application of employee benefits law to business transactions and employment matters. He has worked on a broad range of employee benefits compliance and regulatory issues for clients ranging from small corporations to very large publicly traded companies, not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities.

He has drafted and amended qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and medical and other welfare benefit plans, to comply with the Employment Retirement Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,(Code) and regulations and rulings issued under ERISA and the Code. He has worked on Employee Stock Ownership Plans and has handled multi-employer withdrawal liability matters and IRS,U.S. Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation audits of retirement plans. He has prepared communication pieces. such asSummary Plan Descriptions and retirement statements, to communicate to employees of his clients the value of the employee benefits they are receiving from their employers.

He has implemented non-qualified  retirement arrangements for executives and drafted severance  p!ans and chanqe of control provisions. In addition. he has provided legal services to clients on COBRA issues. the employee benefits aspects of acquisitions . mergers and divestitures,the tenrnnat1on of qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and on post-retirement medical, flexible benefits issues and on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.        

Mr, Peter has spoken at Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and Illinois State Bar Association {!SBA) seminars and has had over forty (40) articles published on employee benefits regulations, rules and court decisions in various ISBA publications. He is the Editor of THE CORPORATE LAWYER publication of the ISBA and the Co-Editor of the Employee Benefits Newsletter of the ISBA.  He is the Secretary of the Corporate Law Departments Section Council of the ISBA and on four (4) CBA Committees including the Business Divorce Committee. Mr. Peter is a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Bar Foundation.