Partner
Hartford
Email: wkeenan@murthalaw.com
Phone: 860-240-6028
Fax: 860-240-6150
Download V-Card
Download Bio PDF
Bar & Court Admissions
- Connecticut
Education
- University of Virginia (J.D., 1976)
- Amherst College (B.A., magna cum laude, 1973)
William J. Keenan, Jr.
William J. Keenan, Jr. is Chairman of the Employee Benefits Practice Group of Murtha Cullina LLP. He works on a wide variety of matters relating to employee benefit plans. Mr. Keenan advises and works with clients on qualified plan design; preparation and review of plan and trust documents, investment management and custodian agreements, and summary plan descriptions; submission to and approval by the Internal Revenue Service of plans and modifications; preparation and review of domestic relations orders; and assistance in connection with various other aspects of on-going plan administration and ERISA compliance.
In addition to his work in the qualified plan area, Mr. Keenan assists clients with respect to various other benefit programs including nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, rabbi trusts, and cafeteria plans. He also represents clients in connection with legal aspects of welfare benefit plans, including health and life insurance programs, the Affordable Care Act, and tax- exempt welfare benefit funds (VEBAs). Mr. Keenan also assists clients in handling various employee benefit matters which arise in connection with the purchase and sale of businesses.
Mr. Keenan's practice includes dealing with Federal government agencies. He has filed, and secured approvals in connection with, numerous applications for favorable determination with the Internal Revenue Service on qualified plan matters. He has also secured approvals relating to the tax exempt status of VEBAs. He has successfully represented plans in connection with a variety of matters involving the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, including submissions under the IRS Voluntary Correction Program, prohibited transaction applications for exemption, requests for waivers of minimum funding requirements, requests for approvals of rabbi trust arrangements, and dealings with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation as a corporate creditor in bankruptcy proceedings.
He joined the firm 1976 after receiving a bachelor's degree from Amherst College and a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is identified in the most recent Edition of The Best Lawyers in America as being one of the best lawyers in Employee Benefits Law in Connecticut and the United States, and has been included in that directory since 1993. He has also been recognized as one of Connecticut's top lawyers in the field of Employee Benefits Law in Connecticut magazine.
- Connecticut Bar Association, Former Co-Chairman of Retirement and Welfare Benefits Subcommittee of Labor and Employment Law Section
- Member of Steering Committee, Hartford Chapter of Worldwide Employee Benefits (WEB)
- Best Lawyers in America, Employee Benefits
William J. Keenan, Jr. is Chairman of the Employee Benefits Practice Group of Murtha Cullina LLP. He works on a wide variety of matters relating to employee benefit plans. Mr. Keenan advises and works with clients on qualified plan design; preparation and review of plan and trust documents, investment management and custodian agreements, and summary plan descriptions; submission to and approval by the Internal Revenue Service of plans and modifications; preparation and review of domestic relations orders; and assistance in connection with various other aspects of on-going plan administration and ERISA compliance.
In addition to his work in the qualified plan area, Mr. Keenan assists clients with respect to various other benefit programs including nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, rabbi trusts, and cafeteria plans. He also represents clients in connection with legal aspects of welfare benefit plans, including health and life insurance programs, the Affordable Care Act, and tax- exempt welfare benefit funds (VEBAs). Mr. Keenan also assists clients in handling various employee benefit matters which arise in connection with the purchase and sale of businesses.
Mr. Keenan's practice includes dealing with Federal government agencies. He has filed, and secured approvals in connection with, numerous applications for favorable determination with the Internal Revenue Service on qualified plan matters. He has also secured approvals relating to the tax exempt status of VEBAs. He has successfully represented plans in connection with a variety of matters involving the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, including submissions under the IRS Voluntary Correction Program, prohibited transaction applications for exemption, requests for waivers of minimum funding requirements, requests for approvals of rabbi trust arrangements, and dealings with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation as a corporate creditor in bankruptcy proceedings.
He joined the firm 1976 after receiving a bachelor's degree from Amherst College and a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is identified in the most recent Edition of The Best Lawyers in America as being one of the best lawyers in Employee Benefits Law in Connecticut and the United States, and has been included in that directory since 1993. He has also been recognized as one of Connecticut's top lawyers in the field of Employee Benefits Law in Connecticut magazine.
- Connecticut Bar Association, Former Co-Chairman of Retirement and Welfare Benefits Subcommittee of Labor and Employment Law Section
- Member of Steering Committee, Hartford Chapter of Worldwide Employee Benefits (WEB)
- Best Lawyers in America, Employee Benefits
- Labor and Employment News
- Post-Windsor Guidance Issued for Cafeteria Plans and Flexible Spending Arrangements
- Defense of Marriage Act Found Unconstitutional: Implications for Benefit Plan Sponsors
- "Play or Pay" Requirements Delayed; Other Health Insurance Mandates Continue in Effect
- Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate delayed until January 2015
- Supreme Court Strikes Down Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
- Action Required to Comply with Final HIPAA Regulations
- Affordable Care Act Individual Mandate Upheld - What Employers Must Do Now
- IRS Issues Additional Guidance on W-2 Reporting of Health Coverage
- Year-End Reminders for Employee Benefit Plans
- Immediate Impact of Health Care Reform on Employers
- IRS Issues Guidance Regarding Waiver of 2009 Required Minimum Distributions
- New COBRA Rules Require Immediate Action
- Year-End Deadline for Section 409A Compliance
- Focus on 403(b) Plans - Final Regulations Require Changes to Be Made in 2008
- Important Change for Cafeteria Plans
- Beware Taxation on Bonuses and Severance Packages: Final 409A Regulations Released
- Highly Anticipated Final Regulations Under Section 409A Released
- Connecticut
- University of Virginia (J.D., 1976)
- Amherst College (B.A., magna cum laude, 1973)
