Eric Robertson
About Eric
Eric Robertson helps for profit and not-for-profit clients with a breadth of issues related to corporate formation, policies, compensation, contracts, and agreements. These include entity formation; drafting and reviewing of internal company policies, including conflict of interest, executive compensation, and internal controls policies; and reviewing, drafting, and negotiating contracts, including small- and large-scale service agreements, executive employment agreements, and purchase and sale agreements. Eric also advises clients on a wide range of corporate governance issues involving corporate actions, bylaws, operating agreements, formation documents, and shareholder agreements.
Eric has a background in employee benefits and executive compensation and has advised employers on issues related to compliance with ERISA, IRS, and DOL regulations for single and multiemployer retirement plans. In the area of executive compensation, Eric assists clients in forming multifaceted equity compensation plans and deferred compensation plans for current and incoming executives and key employees who are compliant or exempt from Internal Revenue Code Section 409A.
Representative Experience
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Equity Incentive Plan Drafting Plus
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Advised clients on a variety of equity compensation plans which awarded incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and synthetic or phantom equity.
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Commercial Service Agreements Plus
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Drafted a master service agreement designed to be used when contracting with businesses nationwide to perform maintenance services on complex and technical energy equipment.
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Drafted standalone service agreements for marketing, banking, and manufacturing industry clients.
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Code Section 409A Compliant and Exempt Compensation Agreements Plus
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Drafted a variety of agreements for executives and key employees that provide for financial or equity-deferred compensation in compliance with Code Section 409A.
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Client Collaborations
Activities
- Oregon State Bar, Member
- Taxation Section, New Tax Lawyer Committee, Secretary, 2019-2023
- Serendipity Center Inc., Board of Directors
Recognition
- Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® (Portland, OR)
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2024-present
- Nonprofit/Charities Law, 2024-present
- Tax Law, 2024-present
Insights from Eric
- “Learn the Ins and Outs of Mergers, and Other Alternatives,” Campus Legal Advisor (May 2024)
- “Tech Layoffs Give Employers and Employees Important Reminder to Review Equity Compensation Terms,” Miller Nash, IP & Technology Law Trends (Mar. 2023)
- “IRS Issues (and Seeks Comments on) Standards for Qualifying an LLC as a 501(c)(3) Entity,” Miller Nash (Nov. 2021)
- “Burr Takes Aim . . . This Time at Non-Taxable Scholarships,” Miller Nash, News You Can Use, coauthor (Oct. 2021)
- “CARES Act Impacts Employer-Provided Group Health Plans,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Employee Benefits Update (Apr. 2020)
- “IRS Publishes Final Hardship Distribution Regulations,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Employee Benefits Update (Oct. 2019)
- “For Show or Dough? Is Changing Your Entity’s Domicile Beneficial?” Oregon State Bar, Broadbrush Taxation: Tax Law for Non-Tax Lawyers (Oct. 2021)
Outside the Office
Eric spends his time outside the office attending college and professional sporting events, including the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington State Cougars, watching standup comedy at local comedy clubs, visiting state and national parks, and improving his cooking and baking skills. Eric learned to golf at a young age and still plays regularly at courses in Oregon and southern Washington.