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Kara Backus Photo

Kara

Kara Backus
Shareholder
Portland
D 503.778.2184
backusk@lanepowell.com

Kara Backus' practice is exclusively in the areas of employee benefits and executive compensation. Kara enjoys working with clients to help them better understand and solve their often complex employee benefits issues.   

She has experience with qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, health and welfare benefit plans, executive compensation issues, and the employee benefits aspects of mergers and acquisitions. Kara counsels clients to design and draft benefit plans, monitor compliance with new legislation, analyze regulatory guidance under the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA, and to interact with the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor regarding plan issues. Kara also advises clients on COBRA and HIPAA issues, fiduciary responsibility, and prohibited transaction requirements.

Outside of work, Kara enjoys reading fiction, gardening, and getting outside in rain or shine with her husband and young son.

Professional Experience

Lane Powell PC

  • Shareholder (2021-Present)
  • Associate (2012-2015)

Bullard Law, Shareholder (2015-2021)

Jones Day, Associate (2008-2012)
 

Community Involvement

Portland Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council

  • Member (2015-Present)
  • President (2014-2016)

Oregon Retirement Savings, Board Member (2015-Present)

Oregon State Bar, Member (2011-Present)

State Bar of California, Member (2008-Present)

 

Thought Leadership

  • June 1, 2023News
    Lane Powell Again Ranked Among Top Firms in 2023 Chambers® USA
    Awards & Honors
  • March 8, 2023Publication
    ACA Anti-Discrimination Rules May Apply To 3rd-Party Admin
    Law360
  • January 27, 2023Publication
    Third-Party Administrators May Be on the Hook for Affordable Care Act’s Anti-Discrimination Rules
    Labor, Employment & Benefits Legal Update
  • October 13, 2022Event / CLE
    'Best Practices for Best Employers™' Labor & Employment Seminar
    Lane Powell | Seattle, Washington
  • August 18, 2022News

    The Best Lawyers in America© 2023 Recognizes 90 Lane Powell Attorneys

    Awards & Honors
  • July 27, 2022Publication
    Abortion Coverage as an Employee Benefit: The Supreme Court Forces Employers Into the Fray
    Labor, Employment & Benefits Legal Update
  • June 1, 2022News
    Lane Powell Again Ranked Among Top Firms in 2022 Chambers® USA
    Awards & Honors
  • October 6 - December 8, 2021Event / CLE
    'Best Practices for Best Employers™' Webinar Series
    Lane Powell | Virtual
  • December 1, 2021Event / CLE
    COVID-19 and Employee Benefits Plans: Making Sense of the New Legislation and Guidance
    Lane Powell 'Best Practices For Best Employers™' Webinar Series | Virtual
  • November 17, 2021Event / CLE
    New Strategies for Managing Remote Workers During the Pandemic Era (Part Two)
    Lane Powell 'Best Practices For Best Employers™' Webinar Series | Virtual
  • September 3, 2021News
    Kara Backus Featured in Law360 Article ‘Employee Benefits Attorney Rejoins Lane Powell in Portland’
    In the News
  • September 1, 2021News
    Experienced Employee Benefits Attorney Backus Rejoins Lane Powell
    Firm Announcement
  • Award_Chambers Leading Lawyer 2023
  • Awards_2023 Best Lawyers America

Practices & Industries

  • Labor, Employment & Benefits
  • Corporate, Securities, and M&A
  • ERISA, Life, Health & Disability
  • Senior Living & Long Term Care
  • Tax
  • Wage & Hour

Education

  • University of Southern California, Gould School of Law , J.D., 2008
    • Interdisciplinary Law Journal, Executive Articles Editor
    • All Saints Church and the Argument for a Goal-Driven Application of Internal Revenue Service Rules for Tax-Exempt Organizations, 17 S. Cal. Interdisc. L.J. 301
  • Amherst College, B.A., English and German, 1996
    • Academic All-American and “Friends of Amherst” honors

Admissions

  • Oregon
  • California

Language

  • German (Proficient)

Honors

Chambers® USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (2020-2023)

The Best Lawyers in America©, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2020-2023)

“Oregon Super Lawyer,” Thomson Reuters, Employee Benefits (2017-2018)

Before proceeding, please note:  If you are not a current client of Lane Powell PC, please do not include any information in this email that you or someone else considers to be confidential or secret in nature.  Prior to the establishment of a lawyer-client relationship, unsolicited emails from non-clients containing confidential or secret information cannot be protected from disclosure.

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