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“ERISA is like being paid to sit at your desk and solve puzzles all day,” David Powell says with a smile—but his career has been anything but a simple diversion.  A graduate of the University of Texas  School of Law and a certified public accountant, David is a past president of the Washington Employee Benefits Forum, the U.S. Editor of the Journal of the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association, and a member of the Board of Contributors of both the Journal of Deferred Compensation and Employee Benefits for Nonprofits.  In addition to working with public companies on 401(k), profit-sharing, pension, cash balance, health care, and flexible benefit plans, he has also assisted clients with nonqualified deferred compensation plans, including SERPs and other kinds of top hat and executive compensation arrangements, split dollar plans, excess benefit plans, and rabbi trust arrangements.  A nationally recognized expert on ESOPs as well as plans for churches, government and other non-profit organizations, David has authored or co-authored pieces for Pension and Benefits Week, the Journal of Pension Planning and Compliance, International Pension Lawyer, the Journal of Accountancy, and other leading publications, and is the author of BNA Tax Management Portfolio No. 372#, Church and Governmental Plans.  He has also spoken on benefits and tax issues in venues too numerous to list. 

As extensive as his professional activities might be, David believes that one of the keys to his success as an attorney is what happens away from work.  “I like being a tax lawyer,” he says.  “But you have to do more than practice law.  You have to have outside interests.  What I do when I’m not at Groom gives me better grounding to make better judgments on tough questions.”  Citing his family, his church, and the occasional squash match as his main interests outside work, David also feels that his pro bono activities help him to maintain a healthy perspective on his career.  “My typical pro bono project is advice to small non-profits, including small churches, on their tax issues. I believe that it is a personal obligation to assist others, and it is rewarding when you can use your expertise to help those who can’t pay.”