FRANCIS A. KOVACS-COLÓN

EDUCATION: The Ohio State University (B.A., 1975); Capital University Law School (J.D., 1980); admitted to bar, 1980; Capital University Law School (L.L.M. in taxation, 1991).

Member: Columbus Bar Association (Member, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 1985-1988; Vice-Chairman, 1987-1988; Chairman, 1988-1989) and American Bar Association (Member, Tax Section, Employee Benefits Committee and Important Developments and Publications Subcommittee).

Born: May 23, 1953, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

FOREIGN

LANGUAGES: Spanish

PRESENTLY: Kovacs-Colόn & Associates, Inc. 

The firm's principal, Mr. Kovacs-Colón delves into both the daily and the sophisticated areas of a varied business and tax practice. Consisting predominantly of closely held businesses and professional groups, his clients include individuals, employers of various sizes and service providers, which include financial institutions servicing the investment and administrative areas of employee benefit plans. He was formerly an attorney with a major life insurance company's pension department. In that position he was responsible for tax, securities and insurance law compliance. His practice also includes heavy experience in financial product regulations, qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation programs, welfare benefit programs, tax-exempt organizations, and estate planning. Mr. Kovacs-Colόn has represented clients in Federal Court, before the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor, and has provided valuable  counseling in such areas as plan design and drafting, control groups and affiliated service groups, separate lines of business, employer stock plans, employee leasing, voluntary compliance resolution, prohibited transactions, acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, spin-offs, plan amendments and terminations, Family Medical Leave Act, Americans With Disabilities Act, and Workers Benefit Protection Act. Conference Chairman, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, 1990 and Employee Benefits and Bankruptcy, 1991, Columbus Bar Association; Adjunct Professor, Capital University Law and Graduate Center. Lecturer: "Non-qualified Deferred Compensation," Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, Not For Profit Organization Seminar, 1996; "Claims for Breach of Fiduciary Responsibility Under ERISA," Columbus Bar Association, 1991; "Age-Weighted Profit Sharing Plans," Columbus Bar Association Seminar, 1991; "Tax Issues in Separation Agreements and Post Employment Health Insurance," Ohio CLE Seminar, 1999; "What Type Compensation-Benefit Plan is Best for Your Client?," Ohio CLE 1998; "Retirement Plans and IRA's," Ohio Society of CPAs, Federal Tax Symposium, 2006.

 Developing sophisticated analytical and assessment criteria, led executive and pension committees of an international manufacturing organization in it's successful search for, and continued monitoring of, a financial service investment adviser, eventuating in both a fruitful reconstruction of a large pension plan portfolio and installation of significant executive benefit plan funding. 

 Designed and implemented retirement and employee benefit plans for national organization of over 350 related corporations while avoiding application of control group and affiliated service group provisions under tax code.

 Obtained very favorable, cost saving resolution under VCR for a 1.2 billion dollar publicly-traded client whose 401(k) profit sharing plan had, over several years, misapplied fixed income investments for several thousand participants while constructing legal position avoiding finding of fiduciary breach.

 Successfully supervised national retailer's ERISA strategies on behalf of its multi-million dollar ESOP and other employee benefit plans during its passage through Chapter 11, both negotiating and securing significant VCR letter, saving nearly $100,000 of additional employer contributions, and avoiding fiduciary liabilities relating to purchase and valuation of employer stock.

 Designed, drafted and obtained favorable determination letter for ESOP sponsored by auto parts manufacturer with international client base, including assistance with Bank financing and related corporate issues, as well as implementing favorable tax results under Code Section 1042 for company’s principal.

 Restructured profit sharing 401(k) plan and converted non-qualified plan into a Cash Balance Plan for long standing law firm enabling partners to more securely provide for firm’s succession strategy, while significantly enhancing finances of retirement accounts and the firm itself.

 Constructed plan design and determination letter requesting, and obtaining, favorable ruling on behalf of a multi-state engineering-architectural firm in which such plan specifically provided for purchase of employer stock under the profit sharing plan by shareholders only.

 Drafted complaint, assisted senior litigation partner and negotiated successful settlement on behalf of client in action against major bank for both fiduciary breach under ERISA and breach of contract and negligence under state law.

 Provide volume submitter plan documents and ongoing tax-ERISA deferred compensation legal advice and consulting to various investment-record keeping service providers, including significant Ohio private money manager and large Ohio independent insurance-brokerage firm.

 Provide flex plan and related documents and ongoing tax-ERISA welfare and fringe benefit legal advice to third party plan administrators and consultants.

 Adjunct Professor, teaching qualified retirement plans and also executive compensation at Capital University Law School's Graduate Tax Program (LLM). 

Kovacs-Colón Pension Management, LLC

(September 2003 to Present)

Coolidge Wall

(March 1995 to August 2003, Partner)

Schottenstein Zox and Dunn

(October 1988 to February 1995, Partner)

Mr. Kovacs-Colón is also President of Kovacs-Colón Pension Management, LLC, a qualified plan and deferred compensation plan design, administration and consulting firm. 

OTHER 

PROFESSIONAL

ORGANIZATIONS

AND ACTIVITIES: Member of "The Group," a national, private, invitation only organization consisting primarily of attorneys whose practice is focused in the area of tax, qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation, welfare benefits, health care, and estate planning.

Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Board Member and Vice President, Columbus, Ohio;