Practice Areas:

• Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
• Tax
• Business and Corporate
• Estate Planning and Probate
• Merger and Acquisition

Education:

• LL.M., Taxation, University of Washington, 2001
• J.D., University of Washington, 2000
• B.A., University of Washington, 1993

Boards & Memberships:

• Northwest Autism Center, Secretary of the Board
• Spokane Estate Planning Council, Membership Committee
• Spokane Chapter National Institute of Pension Administrators, Board Member
• Spokane County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division Board of Trustees, 2002-2006
• Washington Women Lawyers

Lara L. Hemingway, Principal

Spokane

P: 509.624.5265

F: 509.458.2717

llh@witherspoonkelley.com

Legal Assistant: Linda Nutting

Lara Hemingway focuses her practice on executive compensation, employee pension and welfare benefits, equity compensation, estate planning, and taxation. Lara advises clients concerning all aspects of executive compensation and employee benefit plan compliance, including non-qualified plans, 409A, 401(k)s, Cafeteria Plans, HRAs, ERISA, COBRA, EESA/ARRA, and other tax issues. She also serves clients with estate planning needs related to wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and probate administration.

Lara regularly counsels clients on managing pension and benefit plan compliance in the merger and acquisition context, including qualified and non-qualified arrangements, plan interpretation, termination, and mergers, as well as executive benefit issues under Code Sections 280G (parachute payments) and 409A (non-qualified deferred compensation). She also advises clients on the executive compensation restrictions under EESA/ARRA for financial institutions receiving TARP funds. She has expertise in executive benefit plan packages, including equity-incentive plans and supplemental executive benefit plans, non-qualified deferred compensation, and executive employment agreements. She also works on qualified plans, assisting clients with plan design, ongoing compliance, plan corrections, mergers and terminations. In addition, Lara advises clients on non-profit entity formation, IRS tax-exempt filings and non-profit governance and compliance, including executive director compensation analysis.

• Licensed to practice in Washington.
• Joined Witherspoon Kelley in 2001.

• Sterling Financial Corporation’s acquisition of Klamath First Bancorp, Inc.
• Sterling Financial Corporation’s acquisition of Golf Savings Bank.
• Sterling Financial Corporation’s acquisition of FirstBank Northwest.
• Sterling Financial Corporation’s acquisition of Sonoma National Bank.
• Empire Health Services’ acquisition by Community Health Systems.