Kenneth A. "Ken" Hoogstra

Ken Hoogstra maintains an extensive employee benefits practice, advising clients on such matters as ERISA compliance for group health, welfare and pension plans, and the design and administration of qualified retirement plans and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Ken places a particular focus on the implementation, design and administration of employee stock ownership plans (“ESOPs”). He also has significant experience working on executive compensation arrangements, including compliance with tax laws such as Internal Revenue Code Sections 162(m), 280G and 409A, as well as disclosure requirements for executive compensation plans in public company proxy statements and periodic SEC filings. Working with attorneys from the firm’s Litigation and Risk Management team, Ken has helped defend employers, retirement plans and health care providers in numerous ERISA litigation cases, both at the federal district court and appellate court levels.

Ken also counsels both public and private companies on a wide variety of securities laws issues, including compliance with SEC filing requirements and exempt stock offerings. He advises public companies regarding their compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, and other federal and state statutes affecting companies’ SEC disclosures and corporate governance requirements.

­Additionally, Ken maintains a broad employment-based immigration practice, with a particular emphasis on immigration options for health care professionals, engineers, intra-company transferees and computer consultants. Ken has successfully obtained J-1 waivers and H-1B status for physicians in numerous states, including Wisconsin, Iowa, California, Arizona and Maine.

Ken is actively involved in charitable work through his church and currently serves as President of the Wisconsin Classis of the Reformed Church in America. He also serves as a mentor in a local elementary school.