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James Earle

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Jim counsels publicly traded companies and other complex employers on matters related to executive compensation. His clients operate globally in a wide range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, food, telecommunications, utilities and other service-based companies. Jim advises clients on all aspects of the employment, compensation, benefits and severance of directors, executive officers and other senior managers. He has significant substantive experience with all forms of executive compensation and benefit plans.

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In our recent client alert, “Texas Federal Court Allows an ERISA Fiduciary Challenge Against Alleged “ESG Investing” Without Any ESG Funds,” we reported that a Texas district court recently upheld Biden-administration Department of Labor (DOL) rules permitting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations as “tie breakers” in selecting 401(k) plan investments. The district court, following instructions from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, applied a Loper Bright “post-Chevron” analysis to hold that the Biden-era rules were validly issued.

In this installment of our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Considerations in Mergers and Acquisitions podcast series, Troutman Pepper Partners Jim Earle, Lynne Wakefield, and Lydia Parker discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo on benefits-related regulations, including the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule; environmental, social, and governance regulations; protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity under the Affordable Care Act; and much more.