27th Annual Stanford Directors' College 2022
Joseph M. Yaffe
Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
As head of Skadden’s West Coast Executive Compensation and Benefits Group, Joseph M. Yaffe counsels public and private companies, private equity firms, senior executives and boards of directors on their most complex matters.
Mr. Yaffe’s broad practice includes advising on the tax and securities issues arising in equity compensation arrangements and handling the employee benefits issues in corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs and other business combinations.
He regularly handles the executive compensation aspects of some of the world’s largest M&A transactions, with a strong focus on the technology sector. He works with companies in a broad range of other industries, including entertainment, retail, medical technology and biotechnology.
Mr. Yaffe advises on tax-qualified plan issues, including issues relating to 401(k) and 403(b) plans, and represents clients in negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor regarding compliance issues under the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA.
He has an active practice representing senior executives and has advised numerous high-profile business leaders in Silicon Valley and nationwide.
Mr. Yaffe is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading compensation and benefits attorneys. The Daily Journal has recognized him with a number of awards over the past few years, including naming him several times as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California and one of the state’s Top Labor and Employment Attorneys. Mr. Yaffe was named Best Lawyers’ 2022 San Jose Area Corporate Governance Law Lawyer of the Year. On the strength of client feedback, Mr. Yaffe repeatedly has been named a Lawdragon 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyer and a 2019 BTI Client Service All-Star by BTI Consulting Group.
He was named a 2018 Executive Compensation MVP by Law360, which also has repeatedly named Skadden among its Executive Compensation and Benefits Groups of the Year. He was a key member of the deal teams recognized by the Daily Journal with California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year awards for innovative work on behalf of Livongo Health in its acquisition by Teladoc Health (2021); Intel Corporation in its acquisition of Mobileye N.V. (2018) and Broadcom Corporation in its acquisition by Avago Technologies (2016). Mr. Yaffe is annually ranked in Chambers USA’s prestigious Band 1, where client commentators have said “there’s nobody better in the business” and that he is “incredibly knowledgeable on executive compensation, employment and corporate issues, and an excellent partner in problem-solving on a very accelerated timeframe.” Mr. Yaffe also is annually recognized as a top executive compensation attorney in The Legal 500 and has been named in The Best Lawyers in America.
He speaks frequently on tax, benefits and compensation matters, including equity compensation issues for emerging growth companies and tax-qualified plan issues. He also is the author of the chapter on “Stock Options” in the book Start-Up & Emerging Companies: Planning, Financing, and Operating the Successful Business. In addition, Mr. Yaffe is a key contributor to Skadden client alerts and other publications, including the firm’s annual Compensation Committee Handbook.
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