Partner
office: (858) 444-2300 | fax: (858) 444-2345
Practice Areas: Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, Pension and Profit Sharing Plans, ERISA, ERISA Litigation, Business Law, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs), Tax Law
Marc Schechter specializes in the areas of employee benefits, ERISA, and business matters. In addition to handling a wide range of business transactional matters, he has extensive experience designing, drafting and implementing all types of qualified and nonqualified employee benefit programs for his clients, with special emphasis on ESOP transactions.
Mr. Schechter earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980 from Rowan University. He received a juris doctor degree, magna cum laude, from California Western School of Law in 1984 and graduated second in his class. Mr. Schechter received the Scriba Regis Award for authoring the best Law Review article; the Miller Tax Award for earning the highest grade point average in tax courses; and the Highest Academic Achievement Award in the subjects of federal income tax and estate and gift tax. He was active with the Law Review as a staff writer from 1982-83 and as Head Notes and Comments Editor from 1983-84.
Mr. Schechter lectures on employee benefit law topics for a wide range of organizations. He has written articles on Employee Benefit topics for a wide range of periodicals. He has also taught the ERISA/Employee Benefits course as adjunct professor at California Western School of Law.
Mr. Schechter has received an AV® Peer Review rating from the Martindale Hubbell International Law Directory.
Mr. Schechter has been named by San Diego Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in San Diego for 2008, 2009, and 2015 to 2024. Only five percent of the lawyers in San Diego are named by Super Lawyers. Recently, Mr. Schechter was selected as a finalist for the 2019 San Diego Business Journal Leaders in Law Award.
Education
- Rowan University (B.A., 1980)
- California Western School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1984)
- Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Mediating the Litigated Case, 2018
Bar and Court Admissions
- 1984, California
- 1984, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- 1984, U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- 2009, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- 1985, New Jersey
- 1985, U.S. Tax Court
- 1996, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- 2000, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- 2001, U.S. Supreme Court
Professional Memberships
- State Bar of California (Employee Benefits-Taxation Section)
- San Diego County Bar Association (Taxation Section)
- San Diego Chapter of the Western Pension and Benefits Council
- ESOP Association of America (former member of the Legislative and Regulatory Advisory Committee)
- The National Center for Employee Ownership
Reported Cases
- Cheap Easy Online Traffic Sch. v. Peter L. Huntting & Co., 818 F. App'x 683 (9th Cir. 2020)
- Lundstrom v. Young, 857 F. App'x 952 (9th Cir. 2021)
- Micha v. Sun Life Assur. of Can. Inc., 874 F. 3d 1052 [published opinion]
- Wayne v. Pacific Bell, 189 F.3d 982, opinion amended and superseded, 238 F.3d 1048 (9th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 122 S.Ct. 40 (2001); Courtney v. American Airlines, Inc., 40 F.Supp.2d 389 (N.D. Tex 1999); Meoli v. American Medical Services of San Diego, 35 F.Supp.2d 761 (S.D. Cal. 1999).
- Wong v. Flynn-Kerper, 999 F.3d 1205 (9th Cir. 2021)
Beyond the Office
- Attorney of the Month Marc S. Schechter, Big Success from Mastering a Small Niche, San Diego Attorney Journal, Cover Feature, February 2023
- Chasing Rabbits - Marc Schechter grew up idolizing Jefferson Airplane; now he reps them, Super Lawyers Magazine, Feature, April 2022
-
Attorney of the Month Marc Schechter. Doing What He Loves . . . But Still Playing The Blues.
San Diego Attorney Journal, Cover Feature, April 2014 -
"Rock On" by Marc S. Schechter [PDF]
This story appeared in the July/August 2013 issue of San Diego Lawyer. It is posted with the permission of the San Diego County Bar Association. - Lawyer Joke
[Click here for Marc's curriculum vitae.]
Recent Blog Posts
ESOPs: An Effective Approach to Business Succession Planning
October is Employee Ownership Month! Did you know that private and family business owners can use an ESOP as a compelling alternative for selling their business?
October is Employee Ownership Month! Did you know that there are 19 Employee Ownership State Centers (hubs) across the U.S.?
October is Employee Ownership Month! Did you know that the largest majority employee-owned company is a grocery store?
October is Employee Ownership Month! Did you know that SB-1407 California Employee Ownership Act was signed by Gov. Newsom on September 29, 2022?
Recommendations
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"They are very professional and had excellent response time..."
"I would highly recommend the Schechter Firm. They are very professional and had excellent response time, email and questions were answered immediately. They completed the work quickly and within time frames. They are prompt and completed our very complex [QDRO] quickly. Thank you Marc and Dianne... -
"...when it comes to pension issues, Marc and Butterfield Schechter are the ones to turn to."
"For almost a year, I was locked in a dispute over an inheritance and pension issue. I had met or talked to more than a half dozen attorneys, all of whom gave me little hope of resolving the issue. At the point in which I was almost ready to give up, a friend recommended Marc, a nationally recogn... -
My experience working with Butterfield Schechter LLP has been beyond positive.
My experience working with Butterfield Schechter LLP has been beyond positive. They have been responsive and helpful with my QDRO needs. I appreciated the transparency and communication style very much!