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“Our goal at Groom,” says Bill Evans, “is to help people solve problems, and we’re good at it.” But one problem that Bill seems less than concerned about is wiggle room in his office, since visitors often have to navigate their way around his road bike, which he uses to commute the ten miles to and from work everyday. “Riding allows me to be efficient with my time and to participate in a truly egalitarian pursuit,” he observes. 

“It’s a great opportunity to stay in touch with nature, especially riding along the Potomac River, and it also gives me a chance to talk politics with biking friends.” 

Politics are as important to Bill as making it up “Kill Bill Hill” on his daily commute, which is one reason he joined Groom in 1992 after working for five years as an employee benefits attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I liked the idea of working in close proximity to the government agencies dealing most directly with employee benefits issues,” he says of his move to the firm. But if politics brought him to Groom, it’s the firm’s work culture that keeps him there: “I like being able to walk down the hall and find quick, thoughtful answers to benefits questions raised by my clients, even if those questions—no, especially if those questions—are outside my particular of expertise.”

Bill finds the right answers for clients in his major specialty, Title II of ERISA. He has extensive experience in drafting and reviewing the operation of qualified defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans, including cash balance plans, and has assisted many clients with qualified plan challenges that have arisen after business acquisitions and dispositions. Bill also regularly shares his expertise with the general public, speaking and writing on issues like IRS compliance and correction programs for qualified plans, participant disclosure rules, 401(k) and 401(m) safe harbor non-discrimination rules, and EGTRRA and PPA retirement plan rules and cash balance plan issues.

Whether working with clients or testing his ideas in more public forums, Bill keeps in mind the lessons he has learned from another abiding personal interest—a major house renovation. “My wife and I wanted to stay directly involved in the project from the start,” he says. “We came up with the original design, worked closely with the general contractor and subcontractors, even wielded hammer, saw, shovel, and wheelbarrow ourselves—and we’ve made sure to get our children involved as well.” Bill feels that the principles that apply to achieving a top-notch renovation are similar to those that lead to a high-quality benefits structure for employees.

“I’ve learned that it takes a team of hard-working professionals to come up with a great end-product, including people able to conceptualize a winning design and those willing to put in the hard slogging work necessary to make it so,” he observes. “Working with my colleagues at Groom, I feel that I can provide both the creativity and the hard work that companies need to build a world-class benefits program for their employees.”