Laura L. Ferguson

Laura Ferguson assists clients with a wide variety of employee benefits, executive compensation, and privacy and cybersecurity matters. She regularly assists clients with drafting, reviewing and amending all types of retirement and welfare plans for compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Internal Revenue Code, and other applicable federal or state laws.

Privacy and Cybersecurity

Laura provides guidance on privacy and cybersecurity-related issues under applicable federal and state laws, including assisting clients with the development and implementation of comprehensive policies and incident response plans as well as drafting and negotiating vendor contracts.  Laura is also an IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US), a member of the Firm’s Incident Response Team (where she assists clients with responding to data breaches) and a member of the Firm's California Consumer Privacy Act Initiative (where she assists clients with navigating the compliance efforts needed for the CCPA).

Benefits and Compensation Plans

Laura assists clients with identifying and resolving benefit plan document and/or operational failures through the preparation and submission of voluntary compliance program applications to the IRS and/or DOL. Laura also has experience in drafting equity compensation plans, deferred compensation plans and employment agreements, ensuring compliance with various laws, including Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.

Mergers and Acquisitions

From a mergers and acquisitions perspective, she regularly works on employee benefits, executive compensation, and privacy and cybersecurity matters arising from transactions, including negotiating purchase agreements, navigating diligence issues (such as Code Sections 409A and 280G issues), drafting transition services agreements and assisting with a variety of compensation agreements (e.g., transaction bonus, equity, employment and retention agreements).

Data Breach Response

Laura’s data breach response work includes conducting the required legal and regulatory analysis, preparing required notifications to affected individuals and various governmental agencies, responding to follow up inquiries from regulators and coordinating responses to customers, law enforcement, regulators and the public.

Health Care Privacy

From a health care privacy perspective, Laura also counsels clients with respect to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by preparing policies and procedures, negotiating business associate agreements with vendors, providing on-site training to staff and assisting with data breach responses required by the Breach Notification Rule. She also assists clients with responding to inquiries or investigations by the Office for Civil Rights related to potential violations of HIPAA.

Laura’s experience includes the representation of:

• CopperPoint Insurance Group in the completed $900 million acquisition of the privately held parent company of workers’ compensation and liability insurer Alaska National Insurance Company
• National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV), in a $500 million public offering of 3.60% senior notes due 2029, together with an amendment to NOV’s credit agreement and a pending redemption of a portion of NOV’s 2.60% senior notes due 2022
• An affiliate of Nautic Partners, LLC, in its acquisition of Spartech LLC, in partnership with Spartech management, from private equity owner Arsenal Capital Partners
• Serna Insurance Agency, Inc., in the company’s acquisition by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
• NJR Midstream, a business of New Jersey Resources, in the announced acquisition of Leaf River Energy Center, LLC, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners
• NewBridge Resources, LLC, in the acquisition of Pacific Coast Energy Holdings LLC from Metalmark Breitburn Holdings LLC and Greenhill Capital Partners II, LP
• Silver Eagle Distributors, L.P., the nation’s largest independent distributor of Anheuser-Busch beverages, in the sale of Silver Eagle’s Greater Houston-area business to a subsidiary of Redwood Capital Investments, LLC
• American Electric Technologies, Inc., in a share exchange transaction and related reverse stock split with Stabilis Energy LLC and its subsidiaries
• An undisclosed buyer that has purchased all of Harvest Oil & Gas’ interests in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado for $42.8 million
• Nuevo Midstream Dos, LLC, in a definitive agreement with an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners to purchase Republic Midstream, LLC