Practice Expertise

  • Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
  • ESOPs and Other Stock-Based Plans
  • Executive and Incentive Compensation
  • Family Office

Areas of Practice

  • Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
  • ESOPs and Other Stock-Based Plans
  • Executive and Incentive Compensation
  • Family Office
  • Family Wealth and Estate Planning
  • Fiduciary Disputes
  • Retirement Plans
  • Tax-Exempt Organizations and Private ...
  • Trust and Estate Administration
  • View More

Profile

John Collins has more than 40 years experience in several areas of tax practice, including estate planning, family wealth planning, charitable organizations, and employee benefits and executive compensation matters. He has been recognized as one of the best trusts and estates lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine, D Magazine Partners (2010-2017, 2019); a Texas Super Lawyer, Thomson Reuters (2003-2018); and he is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Inc., in Employee Benefits Law and Trusts and Estates (2005-2019). John is AV Peer Review Rated Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

John is a contributor to Haynes and Boone's Practical Benefits Lawyer blog, which discusses issues and developments in the areas of employee benefits and executive compensation.

Bar Admissions
California
Texas

Education
J.D., University of Texas, 1975 with honors; Texas Law Review 1973-1975
B.A., Duke University, 1972 with honors

Areas of Practice

  • Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
  • ESOPs and Other Stock-Based Plans
  • Executive and Incentive Compensation
  • Family Office
  • Family Wealth and Estate Planning
  • Fiduciary Disputes
  • Retirement Plans
  • Tax-Exempt Organizations and Private Foundations
  • Trust and Estate Administration

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
Estate and personal tax planning for individuals and families, including succession planning for closely-held businesses, establishment of charitable trusts and foundations, and family limited partnerships.

Family wealth planning, including the numerous sophisticated strategies to minimize estate, gift and generation skipping transfer taxes.

Representing public charities and private foundations in connection with governance issues, unrelated business taxable income (UBTI), conflicts of interest, and other tax and exemption issues.

Employment agreements, severance agreements, code section 162(m) and golden parachute issues, and incentive bonus plans.

Design and implementation of all types of equity compensation plans, including stock options, restricted stock, ESOPs, qualified employee stock purchase plans, phantom stock, and stock appreciation rights.

Planning transactions involving the use of ESOPs in corporate finance and restructuring, representing and advising fiduciaries, and representing borrowers and lenders in pension plan transactions.

Professional Associations
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel


Blogs

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