David S. Dunkle

David S. Dunkle, who died in 2018 at age 73, was a highly regarded Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) practitioner who led the way on self-funded employee welfare benefits. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (the “College”) in 2010.

Dave graduated in 1966 from the Virginia Military Institute with honors in English. In 1969, he graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he served on the Law Review. Dave earned a Juris Doctor in Tax Law from Georgetown University in 1970.

After serving as a captain in the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1972, Dave entered private law practice in Charlotte, NC, where he practiced in the areas of tax, employee benefits, and ERISA. From 1980 to 2018, he practiced law in Birmingham, AL. From 1989 until his passing, Dave practiced law at Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas and O'Neal where he was a partner.

Dave focused his practice on employee benefits and estate planning. He advised private and public employers, fiduciaries, and third-party administrators regarding all legal and tax aspects of employee benefits. This included their pension, multiemployer pension, 401(k)/profit sharing, tax-sheltered annuity, Internal Revenue Code section 457 (available for certain state and local governments and tax-exempt organizations), non-qualified deferred compensation, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”), cafeteria, and health care plans.

Dave helped shape the law related to self-funded employee benefits starting in the 1970’s. As a Special Tax Advisor to Tax Management, Inc., he authored VEBAs [Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Arrangements] and Other Self-Insured Arrangements, Tax Management Portfolio 395-2nd. In 1984, he also authored the Shepard’s/McGraw-Hill treatise on employee benefit planning entitled Guide to Pension and Profit Sharing Plans. He wrote numerous articles for tax publications and spoke frequently in the area of employee benefits.

Dave coached youth baseball and was an avid golfer, alpine skier, and pool player.

His scholarship, especially in the self-funded plan area, was used and appreciated by many ERISA lawyers.

Photo Source: The Decade Book, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel 2000-2010