2200 IDS Center
80 South 8th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Direct: 612.977.8465
Fax: 612.977.8650


Extended Biography

Related Practices
Labor and Employment
Employee Benefits
ERISA Litigation

Publications
ALERT - Supreme Court Expands Liability for 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries
ALERT - 2008 Cost-of-Living Adjustments

Ira S. Friedrich

Shareholder; Labor and Employment

Ira is a shareholder in the firm of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association. He is based in our Minneapolis office and is a member of the Labor and Employment Section. He is head of the firm's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group. Ira practices principally in the areas of:

  • Executive compensation: design and implementation of equity-based compensation arrangements including stock option plans, restricted stock, phantom stock plans and compliance with Section 409A
  • Mergers, acquisitions and dispositions: negotiation and due diligence related to benefit plans in business mergers, initial public offerings, acquisitions and dispositions, including multiemployer withdrawal liability 
  • Tax-qualified plans: design and implementation of all types of qualified plans, including 401(k) plan, 403(b) plan, 457 plan and defined benefit plans
  • Welfare benefit plans: advice regarding the design and implementation of HSAs, wellness plans, severance and cafeteria plans, and claim administration
  • HIPAA privacy and security: counsel to health plans and health care providers regarding responsibilities established under HIPAA
  • Plan assets: counsel to fiduciaries on their responsibilities, including the holding of company stock and the investment of plan assets
  • ERISA litigation: counsel to employers and fiduciaries contemplating or facing litigation

Ira is a member of the American Bar Association's Tax Section. He is the author of several articles on employee benefits that have appeared in national trade publications. Ira also speaks regularly on current employee benefit topics.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ira attended Northwestern University and graduated with a B.S. in communication studies. He received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Ira practiced law in Atlanta before joining Briggs in 2005.