Stacey Austin is a partner at Wang Austin LLC and concentrates her practice in the area of employee benefits and executive compensation. Stacey counsels employers on legal compliance and best practices for their qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, welfare benefit programs, executive compensation arrangements, and equity compensation programs.

Stacey represents plan sponsors and fiduciary benefit committees in negotiating investment management agreements and vendor agreements. Her experience encompasses a broad range of employee benefit matters and includes advising on the applicable of tax laws to fringe benefits, executive compensation, deferred compensation, and welfare benefit programs.

She has particular expertise with fiduciary obligations under ERISA and counsels clients on compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to employee benefit plan fiduciaries. She also assists plan sponsors with qualified plan corrections and Department of Labor/IRS audits. She drafts individually-designed defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans, welfare plans (including cafeteria plans, wrap plans, and HRAs), non-qualified deferred compensation plans, incentive compensation plans, fringe benefit programs and policies, and summary plan descriptions and other employee communications.

Stacey also has extensive experience representing employers in the preparation and negotiation of employment agreements, equity arrangements, and severance agreements, and counseling them on compliance with Code Section 409A and other tax and securities laws governing their equity and non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements.

Prior to founding Wang Austin, Stacey was an attorney in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation department of Winston & Strawn LLP.

Education

J.D., Harvard Law School, 2004
B.S., Northwestern University, 2001

Bar Admissions

Illinois, 2004

Professional Interests and Activities

• American Bar Association
• Great Lakes Area TE/GE Council

Prior Affiliations

• City Elementary - Board of Directors
• Kinfolk CoLab - Founding Member
• Chicago Urban League – IMPACT Leadership Development Program
• HealthConnect One - President, Board of Directors
• Harvard Law School Women’s Alliance - President, Board of Directors
• Harvard Law Society of Illinois -  Secretary and Communications Chair, Board of Directors
• Harvard Law School Association - Vice President, Executive Committee
• Winston & Strawn LLP - Associate, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
• Black Women Lawyers Association of Chicago - Recording Secretary, Board of Directors
• Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women - Executive Committee

Honors and Awards

• Illinois Super Lawyers - Top 100 Illinois Lawyers, 2023-2026
• Illinois Super Lawyers - Top 50 Women Lawyers, 2022-2026
• Illinois Super Lawyers, 2018-2026
• Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2014
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
• Sycamore High School Hall of Fame, 2022

Presentations/Articles

• "Creative Ways to Attract & Retain Top Talent in 2022" NAMWOLF Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL (2022)
• “The Contingent Workforce,” NAMWOLF Business Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2016)
• “Ups, Downs and Exits: Employment and Compensation Issues in the C-Suite,” 2015 MIHCA Conference, Chicago, IL (2015)
• Facilitator, Labor & Employment Roundtable, NAMWOLF Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA (2014)
• “Benefits Law for Employment Lawyers” National Employment Law Council Academy, San Francisco, CA (2014)
• “Is the Affordable Care Act Good Tax Policy?” 12th Annual Employee Benefits Symposium, John Marshall Law School, Chicago, IL (2014)
• “The Affordable Care Act: An Update,” Illinois CPA Society, Lisle, IL (2014)
• “Navigating the Affordable Care Act,” NAMWOLF Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN (2013)
• “Key Drafting Considerations for 409A and Deferred Compensation for Executives, Service Providers, and Growth Companies,” Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, IL (2013)
• “Seven Steps to a Better Retirement Plan,” Retirement Plan Education Seminar, Chicago, IL (2013)
• “Health Care Reform: What It Means For Employers,” Employment Law Breakfast Seminars, Irvine, CA (2013)
• “Equity Compensation Issues for Buyers and Sellers,” Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, IL (2011)
• “Strategies to Manage the Overregulation of Executive Compensation,” MCCA CLE Expo, Chicago, IL (2011)
• “Anatomy of a Severance Plan,” Winston & Strawn Employment Law Seminar, Chicago, IL (2009)