Bio

Kathleen Sheil Scheidt is a partner in Ice Miller’s Workplace Solutions Group and serves as vice-chair for the group. Kathleen counsels public, private and not-for-profit employers in all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation. Her practice is focused in particular on defined contribution and defined benefit pension plans, plan governance and fiduciary duties, equity and other incentive arrangements, non-qualified deferred compensation, executive compensation agreements and perquisites, company stock investments, ESOPs, employee benefits and compensation matters in mergers and acquisitions, and securities law compliance for compensation and benefit arrangements. Kathleen joined Ice Miller after serving as the lead employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for a publicly traded global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Illinois. She advised and worked with colleagues throughout the company on a broad range of legal and strategic matters involving the company’s total rewards programs and executive compensation arrangements. Kathleen was a key contributor in the development of policies and procedures for the company’s securities and benefits compliance following its spin-off from another public pharmaceuticals and medical products company. In addition, on an interim basis she oversaw the company’s legal operations department. Kathleen worked closely with the total rewards and finance teams on ERISA, tax, corporate governance and securities law compliance, as well as strategy, short- and long-term planning and procedural refinements for the total rewards and executive compensation programs. She collaborated with the human resources team and labor and employment legal counsel to help attract and retain key talent and manage employee separations and other transitions and to prevent or resolve disputes related to employee compensation and benefits. She also led the cross-functional team responsible for the executive compensation components of the company’s annual proxy statement. Kathleen was extensively involved in the acquisition and integration of target companies, led the company savings plan and equity plan participant communication and election processes in a company self-tender offer and contributed to several other corporate transaction projects. Prior to being spun off with the biopharmaceutical company, Kathleen was senior counsel for a publicly traded global pharmaceuticals and medical products company headquartered in Illinois, where she counseled colleagues on legal aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation arrangements. She participated in numerous corporate transactions, handling the employee benefits due diligence, contributing to the drafting and negotiation of the transaction agreements and helping facilitate the transfer of acquired employees and their integration into the company’s compensation and benefit programs. Kathleen also served a key role in planning, documenting and implementing the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of the company’s spin-off of its proprietary pharmaceuticals business. Kathleen gained extensive employee benefits and executive compensation legal experience over many years as a law firm partner and associate before she took on her in-house counsel roles. Kathleen began her legal career as an Ice Miller summer associate and then joined Ice Miller’s Indianapolis office as an employee benefits associate.