Alert 06.12.25
U.S. Department of Labor Withdraws 2022 Crypto Guidance—What It Means for 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries
Crypto may be back on the table for 401(k) plans, but fiduciary duties remain as demanding as ever.
Colleen E. Lamarre
Partner
Partner, San Francisco & Silicon Valley
T: +1.415.983.1056
T: +1.650.233.4500
Colleen Lamarre, named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list, concentrates her practice on employee benefits (ERISA) and executive compensation matters. She advises employers regarding the design, documentation, compliance and administration of retirement, health and welfare plans.
Colleen also assists clients with government audits, investigations, reporting and employer disclosure obligations. She regularly advises clients on health and welfare plan design and compliance with ERISA, EEOC requirements, and the ACA. Colleen counsels clients on fiduciary matters in connection with the investment of employee benefit plan assets and employee benefits issues arising in corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. She also regularly advises clients in executive compensation matters, such as compensation and incentive arrangements, including compliance with Internal Revenue Code §409A.
Representative Experience
- Advising EMCORE Corporation on its merger with newly formed aerospace manufacturing holding company Velocity One.
- Advised Kiteworks in Securing $456 Million in Growth Equity Investment.
- Advised Everi in its $6.3B Deal with IGT and Apollo Global.
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- Advised The Appointment Group in Acquisition by Private Equity Firm ECI Partners.
- Advised Airgap Networks in its recent acquisition by Zscaler, Inc., the leader in cloud security.
- Advised Identiv, Inc. In $145 Million Purchase Agreement to Sell Security Systems to Vitaprotech.
- Advised Intrinsic ID in its recent acquisition by Synopsys, Inc.
- Advised Everi in $6.2 Billion Gaming Merger.
- Advised Forza Telecom in Acquisition by AF, an international manufacturer of fiber optic cable and accessories and provider of engineering and installation services.
- Advised Mobiveil in Acquisition by GlobalLogic.
- Served as counsel to Makeswift, Inc. in its recent acquisition by BigCommerce.
- Advised Soar Technology in Acquisition by Forward Slope Incorporated.
- Advised Regalix, Inc. in its acquisition by MarketStar.
- Represented Swrve in Acquisition with MessageGears.
- Advised Pluribus Networks in Acquisition By Arista Networks.
- Advised EMCORE Corporation in Acquisition of KVH Industry’s Inertial Navigation Systems Sector and Fiber Optic Gyroscope.
- Advised Nikola Corporation in its $144 million all-stock acquisition of battery supplier, Romeo Power, Inc.
- Advised YourMechanic in acquisition by Wrench.
- Advised Capital Management Company Taulia in its acquisition by SAP.
- Advised Concentrix In Acquisition of PK, a Leading Global CX Design Engineering Company.
- Represented BioDiscovery, Inc. in a definitive agreement to be acquired by Bionano Genomics, Inc.
- Represents Coursera in $519 Million IPO.
- Led Beauty By Imagination (BBI) in a partnership to acquire part of CURLS.
- Represents NuVia in $1.4 Billion Acquisition by Qualcomm.
- Represented Vincerx Pharma in $62 Million Merger with LifeSci.
- Advised Brown & Toland in Combination with Altais Clinical Services.
- Represented BabbleLabs in Acquisition by Cisco.
- Represented Mid-Con Energy in Merger with Contango Oil & Gas.
- Represented AI-powered Awake Security in Acquisition by Arista Networks.
- Represented Nikola Corporation during $3.3 Billion Merger with VectoIQ.
- Advised DispatchTrack in $144 Million Financing.
- Advised Redpine Signals during its acquisition by Silicon Labs for $308 million.
- Advised Inphi Corp. in its $216 million acquisition of eSilicon Corp.
- Represented Hedvig in its acquisition by Commvault for $225 million.
- Represented Barefoot Networks Inc. in its acquisition by Intel Corp.
- Advised Exari Group Inc. in its acquisition by Coupa Software Inc.
- Represents clients in corporate transactions, drafting and designing non-qualified executive compensation agreements and plans, including equity and non-equity arrangements.
- Advises on remediation of Section 409A violations involving stock options, stock units and other nonqualified deferred compensation plans.
- Assists clients in designing, adopting and operating tax-favored employee benefit plans (including defined benefit and defined contribution plans) and welfare plans.
- Advises clients on complex aspects of the Affordable Care Act (including the Employer Mandate and ACA reporting compliance), COBRA, HIPAA, ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code.
- Supports employers in correcting 401(k) retirement plan failures under the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System and DOL Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program.
- Drafts qualified domestic relations order procedures and reviews domestic relations orders with respect to division of qualified plan participants’ benefits.
- Counsels plan sponsors and investment committees regarding investment policy statements and trust agreements.
- Advises clients on complex multiemployer plan withdrawal liability issues.
Professional Highlights
Presentations
- 401(k) Plan Issues in Stock Purchase M&A Transactions: Plan Termination, Plan Merger and Other Alternatives, CLE Webinar, October 2023; October 2024.
- 401(k) Plan Issues in Stock Purchase M&A Transactions: Plan Termination, Plan Merger and Other Alternatives, CLE Webinar, October 2023.
- ABA and National Affinity Bars Equity Webinar, February 2021.
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- “Expanded Opportunities for Equity Compensation Plans for Private Companies,” Pillsbury’s 2021 California CLE Marathon Webinar, January 2021.
- “Why We Need More Native Attorneys,” Pipeline to Law Initiative: Native American Law School Admissions Workshops, U.C. Berkeley School of Law, June 2019.
- “The Affordable Care Act for the General Practitioner,” Bar Association of Erie County, Continuing Legal Education, March 2015.
- “Dartmouth College Career Panel on Law School and Careers in the Law,” Dartmouth Lawyers Association Event, Dartmouth College, September 2014.
- “The Basics of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” Health Care Reform Seminar, July 2013.
- Publications
- “Owning the Center of the Earth: Hydraulic Fracturing and Subsurface Trespass in the Marcellus Shale Region,” 21 CORNELL L.J. & PUB. POL’Y 457 (2011).
- Associations
- Chair, American Bar Association’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession
- Western Pension & Benefits Council
- Past-President, National Native American Bar Association and National Native American Bar Foundation
- National Affiliate Representative to the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Council, National Native American Bar Association
- Board Member, National Native American Bar Association Foundation
- ABA Young Lawyers Division, Council Member
- Honors & Awards
- Recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (published by BL Rankings LLC) for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2023 – 2025).
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Speaking Engagements
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401(k) Plan Issues in Stock Purchase M&A Transactions: Plan Termination, Plan Merger and Other Alternatives, sponsored by Strafford, 10/17/2023; 10/22/2024
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Diversifying the Legal Profession, sponsored by Pillsbury, California CLE & New York CLE Marathon Webinars, 01/28/2022
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Expanded Opportunities for Equity Compensation Plans for Private Companies, 2021 California CLE Marathons, 01/28/2021
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ABA and National Affinity Bars Equity Webinar, 02/24/2021
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Pipeline to Law Initiative: Native American Law School Admissions Workshop at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 06/25/2019
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Education
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LL.M., (in Taxation), New York University School of Law, 2012
J.D., Cornell Law School, 2011
A.B., Dartmouth College, 2007
Admissions
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California
New York
Languages
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German