reifler@reiflerlaw.com
BIOGRAPHY
Stewart Reifler is an expert in executive compensation.
He was a shareholder with the law firm of Vedder Price P.C. and was head of the firm’s Executive Compensation Practice Group in its New York City office from 2001 to 2018.
He negotiates and structures executive employment, executive severance, and executive compensation arrangements on behalf of both executives and companies. He has represented Fortune 500 companies, smaller publicly held companies and many privately held companies and their senior executive officers, boards of directors, and compensation committees. Mr. Reifler specializes in all aspects of executive compensation, including equity-based compensation, cash incentive compensation, deferred compensation, retirement and welfare-benefit arrangements, and director compensation. He has extensive experience in employment and severance agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. Mr. Reifler has been involved in many high-profile transactions.
Mr. Reifler is co-author of the Compensation Committee Handbook, 4th edition, published by John Wiley & Sons. He has spoken often on executive compensation and equity-based compensation topics, and has presented at national and local conferences of the American Bar Association (ABA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Practising Law Institute, American Lawyer Media, the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), the New York State Employee Benefits Conference, WorldatWork, the Equilar Executive Compensation Summit, and Wall Street Transcripts. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Journal of Accountancy, International Tax Review, The Real Deal, and Practical Accountant. In addition, his articles on executive compensation have appeared in the National Law Journal, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, The Tax Executive, The Journal of Compensation and Benefits, Mergers and Acquisitions, Director's Monthly, Directors and Boards, Securities Regulatory Update, Corporate Business Taxation Monthly, Estate Tax Planning Advisor, and The Journal of Taxation of Employee Benefits.
Mr. Reifler is a licensed attorney in Connecticut and New York, and has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the United States Tax Court. He is a member of the ABA, the Connecticut Bar Association, and the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Reifler was also a member of the AICPA Executive Compensation Steering Committee and the CompensationStandards.com Executive Compensation Task Force, and served on the Advisory Board of Corporate Business Taxation Monthly. In addition, Mr. Reifler is listed in Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, and New York Super Lawyers. Following his retirement from Vedder Price, Mr. Reifler received the Who's Who Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mr. Reifler was a director of executive compensation at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1998 to 2001. From 1995 to 1998, he was an attorney in the Tax Department at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York City and was a member of the ERISA Practice Group. Prior to that, he was an attorney with the Law Offices of Joseph E. Bachelder in New York City, a small law firm that specialized in executive compensation. Prior to 1992, Mr. Reifler was an insurance broker and consultant.
Mr. Reifler graduated magna cum laude from New York Law School in February 1992. He was an Articles Editor of the Law Review for three semesters, and was the recipient of the Law Review Award for Outstanding Editorial Contribution in 1991. He received his bachelors in Literature from Bard College in 1979 and attended McGill University from 1972-1975.
Mr. Reifler was a trustee of The Westport Library from 2000-2008. He also was Commodore (2013-2014), Treasurer (2011-2012, 2015-2022) and a member of the Board of Governors of the Minuteman Yacht Club from 2007-2022. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Franco-American Institute, where he serves as its Secretary and Treasurer. He also is an active-duty EMT with Westport Volunteer EMS and is a member of its Board of Directors and its Treasurer.