Jason Loden, an executive compensation and employee benefits partner, has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Dallas from Baker Botts. He will focus his practice on advising companies, private equity funds and nonprofit entities on executive compensation, employee benefits and tax matters, according to a news release.
Before joining Willkie, Loden was a partner at Baker Botts, where he served as firmwide chair of the Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Section. In that role, he advised clients on sophisticated compensation structures and benefits matters, including in the context of mergers and acquisitions and provided guidance on regulatory compliance under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Prior to that, he was at Thompson & Knight for 14 years before joining Baker Botts in June 2021.
“Willkie’s premier transactional platform, strong corporate and private equity practices and growing presence in Texas create an exceptional environment for the next phase of my practice,” Loden said in the release. “I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the firm to help clients navigate the increasingly complex executive compensation and employee benefits landscape.”
According to the Lawbook 50, Willkie reported $87.7 million in revenue generated by its Texas lawyers last year, a 15.4 percent increase from 2024.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Loden advises public and private companies, private equity funds and nonprofit entities on executive compensation, employee benefits and tax matters. His practice includes counseling on qualifies retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans, equity incentive plans and welfare benefit programs, as well as advising on compensation and benefits issues in mergers and acquisitions and compliance with ERISA and related regulatory frameworks.
EDUCATION
New York University School of Law (LLM, 2001)
University of Mississippi School of Law (JD, 2000)
Millsaps College (BS, 1997)