Mr. Walls advises clients on all aspects of qualified and nonqualified retirement plan compliance and operation.  He also advises on executive compensation and non-retirement benefit issues.

Mr. Walls promptly and proactively responds to-day-to day questions on a host of issues ranging from errors in plan administration to possible plan design changes to participant communications including:

• Helping clients take advantage of various governmental correction programs, including the IRS’s VCP program, the Department of Labor’s Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance Program and the IRS’s 409A correction program;
• Overseeing a wide range of plan design changes, from establishing new plans, making significant changes to existing plans to terminating and winding down plans;
• Recently, assisting a client with restricting the matching contributions in its 401(k) plan to generate $30 million in savings per year;
• Participating in creating various “de-risking” strategies for pension plans, including lump-sum windows, annuity lift outs and full PBGC terminations;
• Assisting in terminating plans ranging in size from small plans for physician practices to large plans with more than $1 billion in assets;
• Creating, modifying and enhancing numerous nonqualified deferred compensation plans, including traditional deferred compensation plans, SERPs and more exotic arrangements for non-employees;
• Designing compensation arrangements in individual employment agreements, incentive plans and severance plans to comply with 409A; and
• Helping clients respond to audits from the IRS, the DOL and the PBGC, including responding to initial data requests, preparing for, and participating in, interviews and negotiating corrections and sanctions.

Mr. Walls also advises clients on a host of fiduciary issues, including restructuring fiduciary committees to better protect directors and senior executives.  He regularly participates in committee meetings, providing fiduciary training and advice on issues ranging from fund selection to plan fees.

Mr. Walls graduated from Duke University, magna cum laude. He received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.