STEPHEN M. FRANCIS
Associate
Employee Benefits & Compensation
Stephen Francis is an associate in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he is a member of the firm's employee benefits and compensation practice. Stephen counsels clients with respect to the tax, securities, corporate governance, stock exchange, ERISA, and other matters related to executive compensation arrangements. He also provides advice to companies, boards of directors, compensation committees, senior executives, and management teams in numerous industries on the following issues: equity arrangements, including stock options, restricted stock, RSUs, profits interests, and phantom stock; employment agreements; change-in-control agreements; severance arrangements; and all other types of executive compensation, including incentive arrangements, deferred compensation, and 409A- and 162(m)-compliant plans.
In addition, Stephen regularly counsels clients in a broad range of industries with respect to executive compensation, equity incentives, and other employee benefit issues in public and private company mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, spinoffs, IPOs, and related business transactions and reorganizations. In numerous transactions, he has addressed issues concerning the treatment of stock options and other equity awards, change-in-control and "golden parachute" tax issues, controlled groups, benefit and post-retirement plan liabilities, severance obligations, and related matters.
EDUCATION:- J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2002
Editor, Journal of International Economic Law - M.A., Classical Music Composition, SUNY Stony Brook, 1997
- B.A., Music and History, Bowdoin College, 1994
Magna Cum Laude
- Practice supervised by a member of the State Bar of California
- State Bar of New York
