David McFarlane is a partner in the firm's Corporate, Health Care, Tax, and Labor & Employment groups in Crowell & Moring’s Los Angeles office. David has more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. and Canada advising on pensions, employee benefits, executive compensation, national and international corporate transactions, bankruptcy reorganizations, securities laws, corporate governance, deferred compensation, and structured finance matters related to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
David and his ERISA team developed and designed the first-in-the-nation employer-funded "Workplace Harassment Prevention and Protection Plan" (WHiPP Plan) to help employers better combat and remedy the growing workplace and societal problem of workplace harassment, with the added safeguards and protections of ERISA.
David is the former president of the Canadian American Bar Association, judge pro tem of the Superior Court of California, former vice-chair of the board of directors at Barlow Respiratory Hospital, former president of the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles, and former president of the Western Pension & Benefit Council (Los Angeles).
Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, David was a former partner in the Canadian law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt before joining Skadden Arps in Los Angeles for 13 years.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: California
Professional Activities and Memberships
- Canadian American Bar Association – Past President
- Barlow Respiratory Hospital – Former Vice-Chair, Board of Directors
- LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles– Past Co President
- UCLA School of Nursing – Former Advisory Board Member
- Western Pension & Benefits Council, Los Angeles – Past President
Representative Engagements
- Represented Liquid Environmental Solutions, one of the largest non-hazardous U.S. wastewater collection, processing, and disposal companies, in its acquisition by Audax Group, a Boston-based private equity group.
- Represented private equity firm on employee benefit matters in multi-million dollar acquisition of aviation and technology company.
Speeches & Presentations
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"Bitcoin in Your 401(k)? Doesn't Matter, Cyber-Thieves Are Going to Hack and Drain it Anyway," 2018 Global TEC Forum, Austin, TX
(April 12, 2018).
Presenter: David McFarlane.
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"How Did THAT Happen? ERISA’s Sharpening Scrutiny on Health Care," 2017 California Society for Healthcare Attorneys (CSHA) Fall Seminar, Los Angeles, CA
(November 3, 2017).
Presenter: David McFarlane.
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"Global Mobility – Where I am, Why it Matters," Tax Executives Institute (TEI), Toronto, Canada
(October 23, 2017).
Presenter: David McFarlane.
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"Employee Benefits - Scratch the Tax - HSA's - Move Over 401(k)s," Crowell & Moring's Managing Tax Audits and Appeals Seminar 2017, Washington, D.C.
(October 5, 2017).
Presenter: David McFarlane.
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"Following the Supreme Court: A New Approach to Judicial Review of Government Agency Decisions?," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(July 20, 2017).
Panelists: Thomas P. Gies, Glenn D. Grant, David McFarlane, Daniel W. Wolff, and Jillian Ambrose.
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"Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 – Claims, Trends & Compliance," Lexis Nexis Webinar
(July 19, 2017).
Presenter: David McFarlane.
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"HSAs, Archer MSAs and the New Challenges of Open State Competition for Health Plans," National Audience of BCBS Attendees, Orlando, FL
(May 9, 2017).
Speaker: David McFarlane.
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"ACA, Control Groups and Related Issues," ASPPA/WPBC Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA
(August 2015).
Speaker: David McFarlane.
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"Recent D.C. Trends and Litigation," Blue Cross/Blue Shield Western Operations Conference, San Diego, CA
(June 2015).
Speaker: David McFarlane.
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"Legal Privilege in International Business Matters," IACD (International Association of Defense Counsel) Annual Meeting, Whistler, B.C.
(July 2011).
Speaker: David McFarlane.
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"Employee Benefit and Compensation Issues in Acquiring or Selling a Privately Held Company," Practicing Law Institute, Beverly Hills, CA
(June 2009).
Speaker: David McFarlane.
Publications
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"Your Next Cybersecurity Breach Will Be Your 401(k)...Soon," Westlaw's Journal of Compensation and Benefits
(July/August 2018).
Authors: David McFarlane and Alice Hall-Partyka.
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"Workplace Harassment and ERISA to the Rescue," Bloomberg BNA Daily Labor Report
(March 23, 2018).
Authors: David McFarlane and Samuel W. Krause.
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"Labor & Employment – Repeals and Rollbacks are Likely," Crowell & Moring's Regulatory Forecast 2017
(May 2017).
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$33 Million Settlement Approved For Systematic and Improper “Bundling” of Chiropractic CPT Codes
(October 31, 2016).
Authors: Harsh P. Parikh and David McFarlane.
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"Pension Advisors and Prison Wardens – The Reality Show," Daily Journal
(April 2011).
Author: David McFarlane.
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"Justin Bieber and Hair Denial," Daily Journal
(March 2011).
Author: David McFarlane.
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"True Grit – The New Wild West of Employee Benefits," Daily Journal
(February 2011).
Author: David McFarlane.
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"Making Your 2011 Resolution List? Start the New Year Right by Considering the Changes to Your Pension and ERISA Plans," Daily Journal
(December 2010).
Author: David McFarlane.
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"Lady Gaga and Health Care Reform," San Francisco Daily Journal and Los Angeles Daily Journal
(October 18, 2010).
Author: David McFarlane.
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Pension Benefits Law in Ontario, Carswell Publishing, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
(1996).
Co-Author: David McFarlane.
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Annotated Unemployment Insurance Act, Carswell Publishing, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
(1992).
Co-Author: David McFarlane.
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"Running with Scissors – and Association Health Plans,"
Health Care Alert
(July 13, 2018).
Contacts: David McFarlane, Samuel W. Krause, Kimberley Johnson, Alice Hall-Partyka
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"Cryptocurrency In Small Bytes: Bitcoin in Your 401(k)? A Byte that May Bite,"
Blockchain Alert
(March 27, 2018).
Contacts: David McFarlane, Samuel W. Krause, Alice Hall-Partyka
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"Expansion of Health Insurance Coverage For Small Businesses and Self-Employed – New Rules for Association Health Plans,"
Health Care Alert
(January 11, 2018).
Contact: David McFarlane
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"A New Day In Executive Compensation – Proposed Elimination of IRC 409A and 162(m),"
Regulatory Alert
(November 3, 2017).
Contacts: Samuel W. Krause, David McFarlane
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"Trump Administration Expands Availability of Non-ACA Compliant Health Plans,"
Health Care Alert
(October 13, 2017).
Contacts: A. Xavier Baker, Alexis J. Gilman, David McFarlane
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"Regulatory Kindness – IRS/DOL/PBGC/FRTIB Provide Hurricane Relief,"
Health Care Alert
(September 27, 2017).
Contacts: David McFarlane, Samuel W. Krause
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"U.S. Supreme Court Favors Religious-Affiliated Hospital Retirement Plans,"
Health Care Alert
(June 7, 2017).
Contact: David McFarlane
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"U.S. Supreme Court to Decide How Religiously-Affiliated Entities Run Retirement Plans,"
Tax Alert
(December 12, 2016).
Contact: David McFarlane
In the News
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Bloomberg Law Q&A With David McFarlane: Genetic Testing Benefits Emerge From The Fringe
May 9, 2018 — Bloomberg BNA
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Employers Unprepared For 401(k) Plan Data Breaches
April 24, 2018 — Employee Benefit News
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Confronting Workplace Harassment
March 13, 2018 — Human Resource Executive
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Most Influential Minority Attorneys In Los Angeles
January 22, 2018 — Los Angeles Business Journal
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A New Way to Resolve Workplace Sexual Harassment
December 29, 2017 — InsideCounsel
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After Harassment, Consider Counseling Services Without Deductibles
December 27, 2017 — Society for Human Resource Management
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Health Hires: Crowell & Moring, Goodwin, Faegre
October 21, 2016 — Law360
Firm News & Announcements