Hall Benefits Law (HBL) is pleased to announce that Managing Partner Anne Tyler Hall and Partner Scott E. Galbreath have been recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. The recognition reflects the professional regard of their peers and the depth of experience both attorneys bring to employers, plan sponsors, fiduciaries, executives, and other organizations navigating complex employee benefits matters.
The 2027 edition marks the 33rd edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. According to Best Lawyers, 81,620 attorneys were recognized this year across 151 practice areas and 203 metropolitan and geographic areas. Approximately 5% of practicing attorneys in the relevant market receive the distinction. Best Lawyers reports that the 2027 results were based on approximately 3.8 million evaluations submitted during the current selection cycle.
Unlike awards based primarily on applications or advertising participation, Best Lawyers uses a peer-review process in which attorneys are evaluated confidentially by other recognized lawyers practicing in the same geographic and legal practice areas. Candidates must first be nominated by someone other than themselves, and final honorees are also confirmed to be in good standing with their applicable bar association.
Anne Tyler Hall
Anne Tyler Hall, HBL’s founder and Managing Partner, advises employers and plan sponsors on ERISA, employee benefits compliance, retirement plans, health and welfare benefits, executive compensation, fiduciary matters, and regulatory issues involving the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and other federal agencies. Before founding Hall Benefits Law, she practiced ERISA and employee benefits law with Alston & Bird LLP and King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta.
Hall’s practice combines technical benefits counsel with a business-oriented understanding of the challenges employers face in designing and maintaining benefit programs. Her experience includes assisting organizations with complex regulatory correction matters, government investigations, retirement-plan compliance, health-plan issues, deferred compensation arrangements, and benefits considerations arising in significant corporate transactions. Representative matters have included obtaining a reduction of more than 95% in an original Department of Labor penalty assessment involving a 401(k) plan and developing a comprehensive deferred compensation program for a global organization.
Hall earned her Master of Laws in Taxation, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center and her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law. She has also been recognized as a Georgia Super Lawyer and, in 2026, was named to Inc. Magazine’s Female Founders 500. Her recent thought leadership has addressed issues ranging from pharmacy benefit manager fiduciary risk and retirement-plan policy developments to the evolving employee benefits compliance environment.
Scott E. Galbreath
Scott E. Galbreath, a Partner in HBL’s Sacramento office, brings more than 30 years of experience advising employers, executives, tax-exempt organizations, governmental entities, and plan fiduciaries on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. His practice spans both qualified and nonqualified plans, with particular experience in executive compensation strategy, deferred compensation, equity and synthetic equity arrangements, supplemental executive retirement plans, and Internal Revenue Code Sections 409A and 83(b).
Before joining Hall Benefits Law, Galbreath served as Leader of the Executive and Equity Compensation Practice Team at Trucker Huss, where he developed and managed a practice focused on executive compensation strategy, plan design, and compliance. Earlier in his career, he practiced for approximately two decades in Chicago, developing substantial experience with qualified retirement plans, ERISA fiduciary matters, prohibited transaction rules, multiemployer plans, plan documentation, and correction programs. That combination of qualified-plan, executive-compensation, and tax experience gives him a broad perspective on the legal and business considerations surrounding employer-sponsored benefit arrangements.
Galbreath holds an LL.M. in Taxation, with honors, and a J.D. from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated lawyer through Martindale-Hubbell, and a Certified Specialist in Taxation through the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He has also held leadership positions with the Sacramento County Bar Association Tax Section and the Sacramento Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council and is a frequent writer and speaker on employee benefits and executive compensation topics.
Peer Recognition in Employee Benefits Law
The recognition of Hall and Galbreath in Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law reflects the range of experience HBL brings to organizations managing increasingly complex benefits and compensation programs. Their practices encompass retirement-plan compliance, health and welfare benefits, fiduciary governance, executive compensation, plan corrections, regulatory matters, and the design and administration of qualified and nonqualified benefit arrangements.
Hall Benefits Law congratulates Anne Tyler Hall and Scott E. Galbreath on their inclusion in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and on their continued commitment to helping employers and plan fiduciaries address complex employee benefits challenges with practical, responsive counsel.
