Verity Rees is special counsel in the Tax Practice Group in the firm's New York office, specializing in executive compensation, employee benefits and ERISA matters.

Ms. Rees advises a wide variety of clients, including private equity funds and publicly-held corporations, with respect to executive compensation and employee benefits features of mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, initial public offerings and other strategic transactions. Ms. Rees' practice includes the structuring and design of equity compensation arrangements and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. She advises clients on the creation, negotiation and modification of employment agreements, separation and termination agreements, bonus plans and change in control arrangements. She has taken a leading role in the compensation and benefits aspects of a number of significant and high-profile transactions, including the acquisition of Blackboard Inc. by Providence Equity Partners, the acquisition of Micros Systems, Inc. by Oracle Corporation and the sale of Lincare Holdings
Inc. to Linde AG.

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Ms. Rees was an associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.