G&K Profile
Anne L. Leary
Shareholder

Anne provides practical and understandable guidance, advice and support for employers, plan sponsors and other clients in connection with their employee benefit programs. In her more than 30 years of practice, Anne has assisted clients in virtually all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation.
Anne counsels clients in connection with the design, implementation and operation of qualified plans, with an emphasis on 401(k) plans and ESOPs. She has substantial experience in executive compensation arrangements, health and welfare benefit plans, compliance, fiduciary liability issues and benefit issues arising in mergers and acquisitions. She has a success-filled track record in the representation of companies and plans before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
Anne is a frequent speaker on employee benefit issues, and has made presentations on topics such as the ACA, COBRA, Disclosure of Plan Expenses, QDROs, USERRA, ESOPs, Executive Deferred Compensation and Code Section 409A. Since 1989, she has been consecutively recognized as a Best Lawyer by Best Lawyers of America.
Representative Experience
- Successfully filed for relief for several clients under the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS)
- Negotiated a settlement with DOL of litigation resulting from the untimely filing of a Form 5500
- Obtained relief for a client under DOL’s Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance Program (VFCP) in connection with untimely deposits of employee contributions to a 401(k) plan
- Analyzed and resolved golden parachute issues arising under Code Section 280G in a corporate acquisition
- Assisted several clients in the design and implementation of deferred compensation arrangements satisfying Code Section 409A
- Assisted in the design and implementation of an ESOP
- Counseled clients in connection with compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Associations & Memberships
- State Bar of Arizona, Member
Honors & Awards
- AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
- Best Lawyers in America®, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2009-2024
- Chambers USA®, 2019-2023
- Az Business Magazine, Arizona's Top Lawyers - Employee Benefits and Insurance, 2014
- Arizona's Finest Lawyers, 2011
Community & Philanthropy
- Valley of the Sun United Way Million Minutes Reading Challenge, Team Right to Read Volunteer, 2013-2014
Published Works Source
Press Releases
- Best Lawyers in America® 2024 Recognizes 52 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys, August 21, 2023
- Gallagher & Kennedy Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2023, June 1, 2023
- Best Lawyers in America® 2023 Recognizes 41 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys, August 18, 2022
- Gallagher & Kennedy Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2022, June 20, 2022
- Best Lawyers in America® 2022 Recognizes 37 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys, August 19, 2021
- Gallagher & Kennedy Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2021, May 20, 2021
- Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 36 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys, August 21, 2020
- Gallagher & Kennedy Achieves Top Rankings in 2020 Chambers USA, May 15, 2020
- Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 33 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys as Leaders in Their Field, August 15, 2019
- Gallagher & Kennedy Achieves Top Rankings in 2019 Chambers USA, April 29, 2019
- Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 35 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys as Leaders in Their Field, August 15, 2018
- 35 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Recognized as 2018 ‘Best Lawyers in America®’, August 16, 2017
- 33 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Named 2017 ‘Best Lawyers in America®’, August 17, 2016
- G&K Attorneys Named to 2016 ‘The Best Lawyers in America®’ List, August 17, 2015
- G&K Attorneys Named to 2015 ‘The Best Lawyers in America®’ List, August 18, 2014
- Nine Gallagher & Kennedy Shareholders Named to ‘2014 Top Lawyer List’, March 1, 2014
- 36 G&K Attorneys Named to 2014 Best Lawyers in America® List, August 15, 2013
- Nearly Two-Thirds of G&K’s Shareholders Named “Best Lawyers in America”, August 22, 2012
- G&K Facilitates Merger Between Sprouts and Sunflower Farmers Markets, May 29, 2012
- More Than Half of G&K’s Shareholders Named “The Best Lawyers in America”, August 31, 2011
- Half of G&K’s Shareholders Named “The Best Lawyers in America”, August 4, 2010
- Twenty-Eight G&K Attorneys Named “Best Lawyers in America”, August 3, 2009
Related News
Speaking Engagements
- National Business Institute
- Western Pension and Benefits Conference, Phoenix Chapter