Will Lee is an associate of the firm and is a member of the Hawai'i and California State Bars. Will obtained a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1992 and a J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1996, where he was member of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.

Will is one of the few attorneys in Hawaii that can provide arbitration and mediation services, who has expert subject matter knowledge of ERISA and other employee benefits issues.

Prior to joining the firm, Will was an investigator for seven years with the Pasadena office of the Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor. In that capacity, Will conducted financial investigations of pension and welfare benefit plans, focusing on the compliance of benefit plans with ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Will's work included review and analysis of prohibited transactions, appraisal reports, opinion letters, balance sheets, plan expenses, investments, trust statements, trustee minutes, financial transactions, and plan provisions.

Will has special expertise in the area of ESOPs. He was the Regional Office Employee Stock Ownership Plan Project Coordinator while with EBSA, conducting many ESOP audits as well as providing administrative oversight of ESOP cases in the regional jurisdiction, which included plans in Hawaii, California and Arizona. Will was a speaker at The Hawai’i Chapter of the ESOP Association 2005 Annual Conference and also spoke before the Western Pension & Benefits Conference, Honolulu Chapter.

“Will was very helpful and effective. I would definitely recommend him!” —Dr. Wen Yu Lee

“William provided, well-researched, clear advice, with a range of options. I felt very comfortable with his judgment and transparency. In dealing with an expert outside of my field of knowledge, good communication and trust are very important. He provided both.”
—Dr. Glenn Ishikawa

Areas of Practice:
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for ERISA & Employment Disputes
• Arbitration
• Mediation

Employee Benefits Law
• Compliance with ERISA and IRC
• Plan Design, Plan Documents, Plan Determination Letter and Termination Applications and Consultation for Qualified and Non-Qualified Benefit Plans
• Reporting Documents (Form 5500, SPD, SAR, Required Notices)
• Resolution of Benefit Claim Disputes
• Assistance with Plan Operational, Reporting and Fiduciary Corrections Under the DOL and IRS Voluntary Correction Programs
• Assistance with DOL/IRS Audits
• Fiduciary Liability Issues
• ESOP Plan, Transactional and Loan Documents
• Taft-Hartley Plans
• Obtaining and Maintaining Tax Exempt Status

Labor and Employment Law
• Unfair Labor Practices
• Collective Bargaining

Civil Litigation
• Business and Commercials disputes
• Breach of Contract
• Business Torts
• Breach of Duties of Trustees and Other Fiduciaries

Business Transactions
• Formation of business entities
• Negotiation and Drafting of Operating Agreements, Buy-Sell Agreements and Loan Documents

Admitted to Practice:
• Hawai’i, since 2005
• California, since 1997
• U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai’i, since 2005
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, since 1997

Affiliations:
• Hawai’i State Bar Association
• State Bar of California
• ABA (ADR Section)
• HSBA (ADR Section)
• NAPABA
• Korean Bar Association Hawaii (President)

Awards & Recognition:
• U.S. Department of Labor Secretary’s Exceptional Achievement Award (2005)
• ESOP and Orphaned Plan Projects Coordinator at the Department of Labor (L.A. Office)
• Mentor for Department of Labor Mentoring Program (L.A. Office)

Education:
• Loyola Law School (J.D. 1996)
• University of California, Berkeley (B.A. 1992)
• Arbitration Training Institute
• Mediation Center of the Pacific Mediation Training

Other:
• Member of the F.L.A.B. Honolulu Attorneys’ Slow-pitch Softball League

To contact Will: wlee@benefitslawyers.com