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Jason C. Ray

Senior Attorney

jason.ray@morganlewis.com

Dallas Phone +1.214.466.4112 Fax +1.214.466.4001

1717 Main St., Suite 3200\\Dallas, TX 75201-7347\\United States

Jason C. Ray advises employers on the design, implementation, and regulatory compliance of tax-qualified and nonqualified retirement plans. In addition to counseling clients on all aspects of employee benefits, Jason appears before the IRS and the US Department of Labor to review penalty assessments, plan correction, and plan audit, among other benefits matters. Jason guides clients in employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transactions, including seller-financed and leveraged and nonleveraged buyouts as part of ownership succession transactions.

In addition to counseling clients on ESOPs, Jason also designs and drafts KSOPs and stock-based compensation arrangements. When clients need advice on the operation and administration of stock-based compensation agreements, Jason is there to help.

Jason represents companies in ESOP stock-drop and ERISA breach of fiduciary duty cases. Clients in the midst of corporate transactions seek Jason’s counsel on benefits integration before and after the transactions. 

Awards and Affiliations

Member, Law Firm of the Year, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Chambers USA (2019)

Member, Law Firm of the Year, Employee Benefits (ERISA Law), US News/Best Lawyers – Best Law Firms (2019)

Member, Dallas Bar Association

Member, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers

Member, Southwest Benefits Association

Member, Southwest Chapter of the ESOP Association

Member, Family Firm Institute

Recognized, "The Best Lawyers in Dallas" in ERISA law, D Magazine (2007–2009)

Admissions

  • Texas
  • U.S. Tax Court

Education

  • Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 2000, LL.M., Tax
  • Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 1999, J.D.
  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1994, B.A.

Services

  • Labor, Employment & Benefits
  • Employee Stock Ownership Plans
  • Private Equity

Regions

  • North America

Events

3/23/2018 - ESOP Association Southwest Chapter 2018 Spring Conference

1/31/2018 - ESOP Association Southwest Chapter 2018 Board Governance – Cybersecurity Symposium

9/29/2017 - ESOP Association Southwest Chapter 2017 Fall Conference

9/13/2017 - Hot Topics in Employee Benefits: What We’re Seeing – September 2017

8/26/2016 - ESOP Association Southwest Chapter 2016 Fall Conference

3/11/2016 - ESOP Association Southwest Chapter 2016 Spring Conference

4/25/2012 - NCEO/Beyster Institute 2012 Employee Ownership Conference

Publications

5/21/2019 - Recognizing the Importance of Employee Ownership, More States Move Forward with Pro-ESOP Initiatives, ML BeneBits

8/2/2018 - Main Street Employee Ownership Act Passes in House, ML BeneBits

6/15/2017 - Three More US States Move Forward with Pro-ESOP Initiatives, ML BeneBits

11/2/2016 - Stock-Drop Complaint Based on Insider Information Fails to State a Claim, ML BeneBits

6/10/2016 - Lehman Brothers Wins Stock Drop Lawsuit, ML BeneBits

2016 - Navigating an Internal Revenue Service Examination and a Department of Labor Investigation of Your ESOP, New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation

2015 - IRC Section 409(p) and S Corporation ESOPs, New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation

10/30/2015 - IRS: Prototype ESOP Documents Now Allowed, ML BeneBits

March 2015 - Everything and the Kitchen Sink . . . , presented at The ESOP Association, Southwest Chapter Spring Conference, Dallas, TX

2/12/2013 - Legal and Fiduciary Issues of ESOPs, presented at the National Center for Employee Ownership Conference

10/10/2012 - The Modern ESOP and Fair Market Value After the End of Tax Cuts, Bloomberg BNA's Pension & Benefits Daily

4/25/2012 - Governance in a Minority ESOP Company, presented at the National Center for Employee Ownership Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN