Scott E. Galbreath is an executive-level ERISA and employee benefits attorney with more than 30 years of experience advising employers, executives, tax-exempt organizations, governmental entities, and plan fiduciaries on complex compensation and benefits matters. Known for his ability to navigate nuanced compliance challenges across both qualified and nonqualified plans, Scott brings deep technical expertise paired with practical business judgment to his work at Hall Benefits Law.

Most recently, Scott served as Leader of the Executive and Equity Compensation Practice Team at Trucker Huss, where he built and managed a specialized practice focused on executive compensation strategy, plan design, and compliance remediation. In that role, he developed significant expertise in nonqualified deferred compensation plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, 457(b) and 457(f) arrangements, and equity-based compensation structures—advising clients on Internal Revenue Code Sections 409A and 83(b), fiduciary obligations, and IRS and Department of Labor remedial programs. He also brings particular depth in advising tax-exempt organizations, governmental employers, and private-sector companies on the intersection of compensation design, plan governance, and regulatory compliance.

Earlier in his career, Scott practiced for approximately 20 years in Chicago, where he developed significant expertise in qualified retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation, ERISA compliance and fiduciary matters, prohibited transaction rules, multiemployer plan funding and withdrawal liability, plan documentation, and plan correction. That Chicago foundation, combined with his more recent California experience, has given him a uniquely broad perspective on benefits and compensation issues across multiple jurisdictions and organizational contexts.

Scott is a frequent writer and speaker on employee benefits and executive compensation issues. He is the author of The Benefit of Benefits Blog, an online resource focused on legislative, regulatory, and industry developments affecting employee benefits and executive compensation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, has been recognized by Martindale-Hubbell as an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated lawyer and Certified Specialist in Taxation by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and has been honored by Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. Scott has also held leadership roles in professional organizations, including serving as Chair of the Sacramento County Bar Association Tax Section and President of the Sacramento Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council.

EDUCATION

• IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, LL.M. in Taxation, with Honors
• IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D.
• Elmhurst College, B.A., with High Honors, Political Science and Urban Studies; Criminology minor

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE

• California
• Illinois

RECOGNITIONS AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

• Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel
• AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
• Certified Specialist in Taxation, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
• Recognized by Super Lawyers
• Recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
• Past Chair, Sacramento County Bar Association Tax Section
• Past President, Sacramento Chapter of Western Pension & Benefits Council
• Past leadership roles, Chicago Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee

WRITING AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• The Unique Issues of 457 Plans for Tax Exempt Organizations
• What is a Top Hat Group Depends on Jurisdiction—Plans Should Use A Forum Selection Clause to Avoid Confusion
  • Journal of Deferred Compensation, Summer 2025
• Choosing the Right Plan and Design for a Tax Exempt Organization or State and Local Government Requires Knowing the Rules and Motivation
  • New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 2017
• Roth Accounts and Conversions—Trick or Treat?—These Rules Aren’t So Scary!
  • Western Pension & Benefits Council Webinar, October 2014
• To Roth Or Not To Roth—Good Question
  • Polycomp Qualified Plan and Self-Directed IRA Sales Team Meeting, September 2014
• ERISA and the Supremes Greatest Hits—A Review of Recent Supreme Court Cases Involving Employee Benefits
  • National Institute of Pension Administrators, San Joaquin Chapter, July 2014
• ERISA and the Supremes Greatest Hits—A Review of Recent Supreme Court Cases Involving Employee Benefits
  • National Institute of Pension Administrators, Sacramento Chapter, June 2014
• Tread Carefully on Taxes for Severance and Deferred Comp
  • Insurance Thought Leadership, May 2014
• A Comparison of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Pre-Tax and Post-Tax Deferred Compensation in Employee Benefits Plans
  • Sacramento County Bar Association Tax Section Tax Symposium, May 2014
• Pay US Now or Pay US Later—What’s a Participant to Do?
  • Journal of Pension Benefits, Winter 2014
• Play Or Pay And Other Health Care Reform Taxes
  • Sacramento County Bar Association Tax Section Meeting, September 2013
• No Ma DOMA—Section 3 Anyway; To Roth Or Not To Roth—What A Good Question
  • National Institute of Pension Administrators, Sacramento Chapter, August 2013
• Reforming Public Pension Reform
  • California Labor & Employment Review, July 2013
• Plans of Governments, Churches, and Other Tax Exempt Organizations
  • Co-Presenter, Western Benefits Conference, July 2012
• The DOL’s Regulations Under ERISA 408(b)(2) Revisited
  • National Institute of Pension Administrators, Sacramento Chapter, August 2011
• Due Diligence When Acquiring A Business With A Multiemployer Pension Plan
  • Journal of Pension Benefits, Winter 2012
• 409A, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  • Sacramento Chapter of Western Pension & Benefits Conference Legislative & Regulatory Meeting, February 2009
• An Unforeseeable Catch-22 — Stuck Between A 401(k) Rock And A 409A Hard Place
  • Journal of Pension Benefits, Spring 2008