Andrew Gaines
U.S. Head of Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits, New York
"With four decades of experience, I advise clients on complex executive compensation and employee benefits elements arising from mergers and acquisitions as well as Title I ERISA matters."
Overview
Professional experience
Education and qualifications
Published works
Overview
Andrew has practiced for more than 35 years exclusively in the executive compensation and employee benefits area at several preeminent law firms and have had the opportunity to advise clients on a wide array of complex executive compensation and employee benefits elements of public and private mergers and acquisitions, capital market transactions and restructuring/bankruptcy matters. In addition, Andrew has also been a leader in the New York bar on advising investment fund sponsors and pension plan investors on Title I ERISA matters.
Andrew advises employers on all aspects of executive compensation and employee benefit plans and their treatment in corporate transactions and in bankruptcy. He also represents employers and executives in the negotiation of employment and severance agreements. Andrew counsels investment fund sponsors on ERISA issues associated with the formation of private investment funds and the structuring of underlying investments as well as upper-tier arrangements for their partners and employees. Andrew also frequently counsels large institutional pension investors on fiduciary issues arising with investing in private investment funds.
Andrew is the practice leader of the executive compensation and employee benefits practice in the U.S. and resides in the Linklaters New York office.
Work highlights
- Rio Tinto: advising on its US$6.7bn all-cash acquisition of NYSE-listed Arcadium Lithium.
- Volkswagen: advising on its US$5.8bn vehicle software technology JV and investment transaction with Rivian.
- Dow: advising on its partnership transaction with Macquarie Asset Management to launch US$6bn Diamond Infrastructure Solutions.
- Tate & Lyle: advising on its US$1.8bn acquisition of CP Kelco from J.M. Huber Corporation.
- Aperam: advising on its US$537m acquisition of Nasdaq-listed Universal Stainless & Alloy Products.
- BASF: advising on its pending US$1.15bn sale of its Brazilian decorative paints business to Sherwin-Williams.
- Ardian: advising on the design and implementation of their long-term incentive plans.
- Thornburg: advising on the executive compensation aspects of their acquisition of a 50% stake in the private credit business of Bow River Asset Management, LLC, forming a joint venture to manage private funds in the private credit asset class.
- Getir: advising on the acquisition of online grocery company FreshDirect Inc. from Ahold Delhaize USA.
- Q-Energy: advising on its acquisition of Heelstone Renewable Energy, LLC, a North Carolina-based developer of utility-scale solar projects.
- Brookfield: advising on its £4bn recommended offer for HomeServe plc, the home repairs and emergency services group with businesses across the UK, U.S., Europe and Asia.
- Rothschild & Co. SCA: advising on its historic going-private transaction.
- Arrival Ltd: advising on the executive compensation and employee benefits aspects of its US$5.3bn merger with CIIG Merger Corp in a reverse takeover transaction.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.: advising on its £2.25bn acquisition of The Binding Site Group, a U.K.-based diagnostics firm.
- Genfit SA: advising on its acquisition of clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Versantis.
- Montagu Private Equity LLP: advising on the carve-out acquisition of the EPFR business from Informa.
Professional experience
Andrew has been recognized as a leading individual in employee benefits and executive compensation by Chambers USA for sixteen consecutive years and by the Legal 500 for eight consecutive years, with clients describing him as “an incredible subject matter expert who is also very practical.”
In 2021, he was recognized as a “Leading Corporate Employment Lawyer” by Lawdragon. Andrew was named the 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” for employee benefits (ERISA) law (NY) by The Best Lawyers in America, and has been recognized in both the employee benefits (ERISA) law and tax law (NY) categories since 2006.
Andrew is a frequent lecturer for Practicing Law Institute, Practical Law and the ABA. Andrew is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Riverspring Life (prominent NY geriatric care institution) and a Trustee of Hobart and William Smith Colleges.