John L. Utz J.D.

JOHN L. UTZ focuses exclusively on employee benefits and executive compensation law, including matters affecting pension, profit sharing, and 401(k) plans, ESOPs, Section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, Section 457 plans, stock options, non-qualified deferred compensation, incentive pay, severance pay, and health and welfare programs. Mr. Utz is a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Superlawyers. He is active in the American Bar Association, having served as Chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the Section of Taxation and having chaired several ABA subcommittees. In addition, Mr. Utz serves as an editor and author for the periodical ERISA Litigation Reporter (published by West) and is a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards for the Journal of Pension Planning & Compliance and the Journal of Deferred Compensation. Mr. Utz was for many years the author of a regular column on executive compensation litigation in The NASPP Advisor, published by the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP). He is also the author of a chapter on Executive Compensation Litigation in the treatise Executive Compensation (published by the Bureau of National Affairs) and previously authored two Tax Management Portfolios (on Nonstatutory Stock Options and Restricted Property – Section 83). Mr. Utz has published articles in journals such as the Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal, Benefits Law Journal, Employee Relations Law Journal, Labor Law Journal, The Labor Lawyer, The NASPP Advisor, Employee Benefits Journal, Journal of Pension Planning & Compliance, Journal of Deferred Compensation, ERISA and Benefits Law Journal, Pension Plan Administrator, The Corporate Analyst, Employee Benefits Counselor, and Journal of the Missouri Bar. He has been a frequent speaker at national employee benefits seminars, including American Bar Association (ABA) National Institutes, American Law Institute-American Bar Association (ALI-ABA) Advanced Courses of Study, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) National Conferences on Employee Benefit Plans, and the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) Annual Conference. Mr. Utz holds a law degree (magna cum laude), as well as a master’s degree (M.S.) in mathematics, from the University of Illinois. Mr. Utz’s undergraduate degree (A.B. in mathematics, magna cum laude) is from the University of Missouri, where he was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa.