Thomas A. Kirschbaum

Thomas A. Kirschbaum, who passed away in 2010 at age 57, was a highly-regarded practitioner in the employee benefits and executive compensation areas. Tom was inducted into the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (the “College”) in 2005 as a Fellow.

Tom graduated from Amherst College in 1974 with a major in philosophy and a minor in physics and from University of California- Los Angeles (“UCLA”) School of Law in 1977 with his J.D.

In 1977, Tom worked for a short while at Kindel & Anderson (firm later closed) and then moved to Hardee, Barovick, Konecky & Braun, where he did entertainment work. In 1979, he left with two of his colleagues to join Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP (“ECJ”), which wanted to grow its entertainment practice. However, Tom’s heart wasn’t in the entertainment law area. His friend and colleague Jim Barrall (then at ECJ) recalled that Tom took him aside during the interview process and asked if there was any way he could do tax work at ECJ. Jim said of course and Tom became Jim’s associate eventually focusing on qualified plan work under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).

In the early days of ERISA, many new associates were assigned to tackle the unfamiliar law. After Tom joined ECJ, Jim Barrall recalled that “I told him that I was doing a lot ‘ERISA work,’ which he heard as ‘Eraser work.’ A few months later, Tom gave me a school kid’s pink eraser, wrapped in a ribbon with a bow, on which he had written ‘ERISA’.” Throughout his career, Jim kept the eraser on his desk in honor of Tom. The story became oft-retold within his group of ERISA colleagues with gentle ribbing and the empathy of good friends who similarly started at square one with ERISA.

After becoming a partner and spending over 16 years at ECJ in Beverly Hills, CA, Tom was enticed to join Irell & Manella LLP in 1996, where he headed the benefits practice for over 20 years. His outstanding analytic abilities made him a much-respected figure in the Southern California benefits bar, especially in the areas of executive compensation and acquisitions. He published and lectured throughout the country.

Tom was involved with nonqualified executive compensation tax provisions, such as Internal Revenue Code section 409A. He contributed to the development of the area, e.g., with comment letters to the IRS on the application of section 409A to non-qualified stock options.

Tom became an active member of the Los Angeles Compensation and Benefits Group founded by College Fellows Ron Rizzo, Dave Gordon, Ethan Lipsig, and Fred Reish together with Jim Barrall and a few others in the late 1970s. The group met downtown in Los Angeles for monthly breakfast meetings for many years. Tom remained an active member of the group until his death in 2010. Tom was remembered for always expressing meaningful insights into the topics that were discussed.

Tom also frequently mentored less experienced attorneys. Jim Barrall moved out of ECJ in 1986, but kept in touch with Tom and worked across from him on a few deals. On one of them, not long before he passed away, Jim’s associate on the deal reported that Tom was very kind and helpful to him, even taking time on their calls to teach him the history and nuances of the applicable laws. A proud and grateful graduate and supporter of the UCLA School of Law, Tom credited it for much of his success and happiness as a lawyer. He was also a major booster of its tax program and mentored students and graduates who were interested in careers in tax.

Tom was interested in and expert in many areas outside of law and was a world-class sailor with a passion for solo sailing. In 2008, he successfully competed in the Singlehanded Solo Transpac Race, a grueling 2,120-mile solo race from San Francisco to Hawaii. Tom quipped at the time he was glad to show the world that lawyers were not monomaniacs whose recreation consisted of memorizing the regulations under Internal Revenue Code Section 409A.

Tragically, Tom died in a sailing accident in 2010, but left a lasting legacy. Tom was known by his colleagues and friends as a first-rate human being, lawyer, scholar and a gentleman. He had a great intellect, wit, humanity and generosity. Tom’s family and friends created the Thomas A. Kirschbaum Scholarship in Tax Law (https://law.ucla.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/financial-aid/tax-and-business-law-scholarships#kirschbaum) at UCLA in his honor.

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