Bernard G. Peter
Shareholder
bpeter@kftrlaw.com
Practice Areas
Mr. Peter concentrates in employee benefits law and the application of employee benefits law to business transactions. He has worked on a broad range of employee benefits compliance and regulatory issues for clients ranging from small corporations to very large publicly traded companies, not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities. He has drafted and amended qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and medical and other welfare benefit plans, to comply with the Employment Retirement Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) and regulations and rulings issued under ERISA and the Code. He has worked on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and has prepared communication pieces, such as Summary Plan Descriptions and retirement statements, to communicate to employees of his clients the value of the employee benefits they are receiving from their employers. Mr. Peter has implemented non-qualified retirement arrangements for executives and drafted severance plans and change of control provisions. In addition, he has provided legal services to clients on COBRA issues, the employee benefits aspects of acquisitions, mergers and divestitures, the termination of qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans and on post-retirement medical and flexible benefits issues.
Professional Associations & Affiliations
Mr. Peter is licensed to practice law in all Illinois and Maryland Courts. He is member of the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, where he was Chairman of the Executive Compensation Subcommittee of the Employee Benefits Committee from 2004 to 2006, and the Illinois State Bar Association on which he serves as the Co-Editor of the Corporate Lawyer newsletter published by the Corporate Law Departments Section Council.
Mr. Peter is a member of the Purdue University President’s Council and is a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of John T. Galvin, Inc. John T. Galvin, Inc. is a privately held holding company for Horstmeier Lumber Company, a wholesale lumber business operating in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Education/Work History
J.D., University of Maryland School of Law
B.A., College of the Holy Cross
Before joining Kubasiak, Fylstra, Thorpe & Rotunno, P.C. Mr. Peter was a legal consultant with the human resource consulting firms Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc., Mercer, Inc. and Alexander & Alexander Consulting Group (now part of Aon Corporation). Prior to becoming an employee benefits consultant Mr. Peter was Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for Marshall Field & Company, Associate General Counsel for Joslyn Corporation, a manufacturer of equipment for the electric utilities and telecommunications industries, and an Attorney with CF Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of fertilizer products.
Publications & Speaking Engagements
Mr. Peter’s articles on employee benefits issues have been published in the November 2006 issue of the Corporate Lawyer newsletter of the Illinois State Bar Association (Volume 44, No. 5). Mr. Peter is the author of an article entitled "A Review of the 1978 Amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967," 69 Illinois Bar Journal 280 (1981). In addition, the article by Mr. Peter on the "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation vs. The LTV Corporation Case" appeared in the March 16, 1990 issue of Preview published by the American Bar Association. Mr. Peter has spoken on a broad range of employee benefits topics at Chicago Bar Association meetings and seminars.
Back to Our Attorneys page
Two First National Plaza | 20 South Clark Street | 29th Floor | Chicago, Illinois 60603 | 312.630.9600 [voice] | 312.630.7939 [fax] | info@kftrlaw.com