Melissa Ostrower is Principal in the New York City office of Jackson Lewis P.C.

Ms. Ostrower advises companies on all aspects of employee benefits law, including compliance with ERISA and the Code as well as administrative matters and fiduciary issues relating to benefit plans.  Ms. Ostrower has extensive experience in executive compensation matters and counsels both public and private companies on executive compensation issues, including Section 409A and 162(m) of the Code.

Ms. Ostrower is also a member of the Jackson Lewis healthcare reform task force and is intimately involved in helping Jackson Lewis clients ensure compliance with recently enacted healthcare reform legislation.

Ms. Ostrower is a graduate of Brandeis University (B.A., M.A.), George Washington University Law School (J.D.) where she was a member of The Law Review, and New York University (LL.M.).

Stephanie O. Zorn is a principal in the St. Louis, Missouri, office of Jackson Lewis P.C.

Stephanie has over twenty years of experience representing management in employee benefits and employment matters, both as in-house counsel and in private practice.

Stephanie is co-lead of the firm’s Transactional Services group and spends a substantial amount of her practice assisting clients with the employment and employee benefits matters implicated in mergers and acquisitions, with a special focus on clients in the private equity, technology, consumer goods, manufacturing and healthcare sectors. Stephanie leads due diligence review, the drafting and negotiation of definitive deal documents, insurer and co-investor interface and closing and post-closing business integrations.

Stephanie’s employee benefits practice includes assisting clients with all aspects of a broad range of plans including retirement plans, health and welfare plans, nonqualified plans, executive compensation plans, severance plans and voluntary early retirement plans. Stephanie also defends plans and plan administrators in disability, group health plan and life insurance claim litigation including ERISA section 502(a)(1)(B) and (a)(3) claims. Stephanie’s practice also includes counseling clients on Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, COBRA, ACA, HIPAA and fiduciary compliance including investment selection, service provider reviews and plan committee issues.

Stephanie’s employment practice consists of counseling employers in connection with discrimination, harassment, disability accommodations, family and medical leave and wage and hour matters. Stephanie also assists clients with reductions in force and reorganizations, noncompete and confidentiality agreements, retention agreements, service provider classification, outsourcing and international labor and employment matters.

Stephanie is a frequent speaker on employee benefits and employment law issues.