David R. Godofsky

David Godofsky is a partner in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group of Alston & Bird. He is chair of the Retirement and Benefits Committee of the firm, and during his tenure as Leader of the Employee Benefits Group (including ERISA Litigation) the firm was named “Law Firm of the Year” by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® for ERISA Litigation in 2016 and Employee Benefits (ERISA) in 2015 and 2017. David is part of the firm's team of litigators which represents major employers in cutting-edge class action and other bet-the-company litigation matters nationwide. David has represented clients in the Supreme Courts of Florida and Illinois. David’s ability to integrate legal analysis with cost, funding, administration and benefit design considerations is informed by his years of experience as an actuary and consultant.

David is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, Enrolled Actuary, former director of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and former vice chairman of the Education & Examination Committee of the Society of Actuaries. He currently serves on the program committee of the Enrolled Actuaries Meeting and as chair of a task force of the Actuarial Standards Board. In response to his comment letters, the U.S. Department of the Treasury corrected an error in pension funding regulations and changed the rules for determining whether cash balance plans satisfy the backloading requirements.

Before joining the firm, David spent 18 years designing, implementing and administering employee benefit plans, determining costs and helping employers control costs and get the most for their employee benefits budgets. His clients seek his advice for practical, workable solutions to complex problems and for the ability to make highly technical concepts understandable to executives, employees, judges and arbitrators.