Robert C. Schmidt

Louisiana

Kean Miller LLP
400 Convention Street
Suite 700
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Tel: 225.382.4621

Email: robert.schmidt@keanmiller.com
Web: www.keanmiller.com

Professional Biography

Bob Schmidt joined the firm in 2016 and has represented clients in the employee benefits and ERISA arena for more than 40 years. Bob worked with the United States Tax Court in Washington, DC as an attorney-adviser. He regularly assists employers of all sizes in developing and implementing pension and other employee benefit plans, and in regulatory and compliance issues involving those plans.

He maintains a pre-approved defined contribution plan that he can use to benefit his clients. He has drafted thousands of plans, including some for publicly-traded and privately-held companies, government and tax-exempt employers. He works with executive pay plans and deferred compensation arrangements. Bob advises employers with respect to plan maintenance, investment regulations, plan administration, and plan termination matters.

Bob has over 40 years’ experience in private law practice, all of which has been spent on employee benefits and tax issues. He is a Board Certified Tax Law Specialist, certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. In addition, Bob was in the first group of attorneys to be provided tax specialization in Louisiana and served on the specialization board.

Thought Leadership

  • “Retirement Law Changes Under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022,” Society of Louisiana CPAs New Orleans Chapter Monthly CPE Series, May 18, 2023
  • “Retirement Law After SECURE 2.0 Act,” Estate and Business Planning Council of Baton Rouge, 2023

Memberships

  • Member, Baton Rouge Bar Association
  • Member, Louisiana State Bar Association
  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, Estate and Business Planning Council of Baton Rouge

Kean Miller assists clients in the development, design, and implementation of employee benefit plans, and in the administrative compliance for those plans. We provide employers with innovative and practical advice with respect to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) issues, qualified plans, plan reporting, fiduciary compliance, and negotiations with and approvals from the Internal Revenue Service. We frequently assist with plan administration, maintenance, termination, and associated fiduciary duties as well as required reporting and disclosures to participants.

Kean Miller has in-depth experience helping publicly traded and privately held companies, governmental employers, and non-profits navigate pension, profit sharing, and health and welfare plans, employee stock ownership plans, deferred compensation arrangements, executive employment agreements and stock option contracts, 403(b) plans, and 457 plans.

We also represent clients who are examined by the IRS and/or Department of Labor and advise on Internal Revenue Code compliance issues and ERISA challenges. We have has helped clients obtain favorable determination letters for their plans, and have obtained favorable resolution of plan compliance problems, including voluntary corrections and relief from penalties and excise taxes.

With more than 225 attorneys in Louisiana and Texas, Kean Miller serves as legal counsel to the people and industries that drive the energy-belt economy. Fortune 500 companies, national businesses, and local companies rely on Kean Miller for efficient legal services and practical advice, always provided in a cost-efficient manner. In the courtroom and the boardroom, Kean Miller attorneys create unique solutions, pragmatic strategies, and unparalleled value that allow our clients to perform at the highest level.

Kean Miller’s expertise has evolved to encompass virtually every legal discipline inherent to sectors as diverse as maritime, construction, manufacturing, tax, hospitality, financial services, healthcare and beyond. Regardless of industry, we provide businesses and individuals with the legal tools they need to build lasting success.

Kean Miller attorneys are more than just quality practitioners; they are down-to-earth people who genuinely enjoy working with others, both in the firm and in the community. Their personal investment in each client’s goals, framed by the firm’s long-standing culture of integrity and value, is a core component of the Kean Miller experience.

“I work with retirement and other employee benefit plans. I enjoy working with employers to ensure that their plans are accomplishing their goals”