Shawn P. Nowlan

Education:

B.A., with High Honors, Union College (Lincoln, Nebraska), 1991; J.D., with High Honors, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1994; LL.M., University of Denver, 2004.

Admitted:

Colorado, 1994; Nebraska 1995

Place and Year of Birth:

Boulder, Colorado - 1969

Practice Areas:

Employee Benefits
Wills, Trusts Estate

Contact Information:

P: 303-606-6414
F:303-692-7610
E: SNowlan@bw-legal.com

Shawn P. Nowlan focuses his practice on employee benefits and taxation. He has advised governmental entities, large corporations, and small business on pension matters involving qualified plans (§ 401(a) pension and retirement plans), including defined benefit pension plans, defined contribution plans; cash balance plans, § 401(k) plans, ESOPs, and other retirement plan designs. He has further experience with § 457(b) deferred compensation plans and 403(b) arrangements. His executive and deferred compensation experience includes work with plans under § 409A and § 457(f), as well as other forms of nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements – and executive compensation such as phantom stock, excess benefit plans, stock options and other similar arrangements.

Mr. Nowlan’s ERISA experience also includes work with welfare benefit arrangements, including § 125 cafeteria plans, and other benefits offered by private companies – including medical/dental, group term life, disability, dependent care, education assistance, adoption assistance, and similar plans. He has worked with business entities to comply with such ERISA requirements as summary plan descriptions, blackout notices and similar matters under the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor. He has filed a number of determination letter requests with the Internal Revenue Service, assisted in drafting corrections program filings, drafted plan amendments and other necessary documents for administration of retirement and welfare plans subject to ERISA.

Mr. Nowlan’s governmental experience includes several years as in-house counsel for the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems (NPERS) and as Committee Counsel for the Nebraska Legislature’s Retirement Systems Committee and Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. This experience included work with agency hearings, dispute resolution, development and advocacy for legislation, and other related matters. While at NPERS, Mr. Nowlan assisted and oversaw the legal aspects of transforming two money purchase pension plans into cash balance pension plans. He also conducted education seminars to make plan members aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Mr. Nowlan was born and raised in Boulder. In 1991 he graduated from Union College in Lincoln Nebraska with a Bachelor of Arts (High Distinction). In 1994, he received his J.D. (High Distinction, Order of the Coif) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While at the University, he served as an Executive Editor and a Member of the Nebraska Law Review, and received American Jurisprudence Awards for Criminal Law and Contracts.

In 2004, Mr. Nowlan returned to Colorado and completed study to receive an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Denver. Since then, he has integrated this tax knowledge with various Colorado business entities (limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations). Prior to joining Berenbaum, Weinshienk and Eason, Mr. Nowlan worked on ERISA and general business matters at Faegre & Benson, LLP.

Mr. Nowlan clerked for Justice John Wright of the Nebraska Supreme Court in 1994-1995, and also served Justice Alex Martinez as an intern during 2004. He is a member of the Colorado and Nebraska Bar Associations.

• Employee Benefits
• Wills, Trusts Estate