Nicolette T.E. Cregan

Nicolette has significant experience assisting in integrating employee benefits plans and other human resources-related integration issues associated with mergers and acquisitions, performing due diligence and issue spotting in the context of mergers and acquisitions, and post-closing plan integration and maintenance.

In addition, Nicolette handles executive compensation contracts, 280G analysis, 409A compliance, and severance agreements. She has experience assisting clients by quantifying the impact of golden parachute tax rates and conducting 280G calculations and evaluating and mitigating 280G tax rule impacts.

As a member of Calfee’s Tax practice group, Nicolette assists with counseling governmental issuers, 501(c)(3) entities and underwriters with respect to tax issues related to the issuance of tax-exempt bonds, including the arbitrage and rebate rules and private business use. Nicolette also assists with conducting research for both public and privately owned companies on federal, state and local tax issues in corporate transactions. 

Nicolette joined Calfee in 2021 from EY, where she served as a Senior Consultant with EY’s People Advisory Services.

Nicolette earned her Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2019, where she served as managing editor of Health Matrix: Journal of Law and Medicine.

She earned her B.A. in Criminology, magna cum laude, with minors in Philosophy, Psychology and Pre-Law, from Kent State University in 2016. There, she was named Criminology Student of the Year in 2016, and she was a two-time NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete. She played intercollegiate Division I Softball (2012 – 2016).

Honors & Recognitions

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2024-2025) and Tax Law (2023-2025) 
• Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Rising Stars, Employee Benefits (2025)
• CALI Award for Secured Transactions

Education

J.D., cum laude, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 2019

B.A., magna cum laude, Criminology, Minors in Philosophy, Psychology, and Pre-Law, Kent State University, 2016

Experience

• Calfee served as bond counsel to a nationally recognized private K-12 school in the issuance of refunding bonds. (2024)
• Calfee served as bond counsel to a municipality in Ohio in the issuance of tax-exempt, new money general obligation bonds to finance street improvements, service vehicles, and a recreation center. (2024)
• Calfee served as bond counsel to a private school with two campuses in Ohio in a tax-exempt qualified 501(c)(3), variable rate new money bond issuance to finance the construction of a new middle school and additional improvements to the school's existing middle school campus. (2024)
• Calfee served as bond counsel to an Ohio county, assisting the client in financing various water system and building capital improvements. (2024)
• Calfee served as bond counsel to a municipality in Ohio in income tax revenue bonds issued by the client to finance a recreational center to be integrated into a new school building to be constructed by the local school district and represented innovative financing and partnership between the city and the school district. (2023)
• Calfee served as bond counsel to a private high school in the Midwest; "draw down" bonds were issued to finance the construction of a new academic building and capital improvements to an existing library facility and to refinance outstanding indebtedness of the school were issued to pay for various other capital improvements. (2023)
• Calfee is advising a publicly traded global manufacturing company with respect to (i) analysis of the company’s equity incentive plan under proxy voting guidelines from Institutional Shareholder Services; (ii) federal tax withholding requirements of supplemental wages earned under the company’s equity compensation plan.
• Calfee is representing the holding company of a global packaging provider with respect to the termination of the ESOP and other benefit plans, including in the UK and Europe. We counseled the client with respect to a pass-through vote on the sale by ESOP participants, and we also provided counsel with respect to the termination of the company’s retiree welfare programs, foreign subsidiaries’ employee ownership arrangements, a UK pension plan, and other executive and deferred compensation arrangements. In addition, the holding company became the sponsor of the ESOP in the transaction, and we continue to represent the client with respect to the termination of that plan, as well as other post-closing benefit aspects of the transaction, including those involving the UK pension plan and deferred compensation arrangements and related purchase price adjustments, and the benefits aspects of the winddown and dissolution of the holding company.
• Calfee is serving as sole Employee Benefits counsel and regularly advises this 30,000-employee client with respect to various matters related to its multibillion-dollar 401(k) plan trust and pension plan trust, and executive benefit plans including plan design, plan integrations, plan administration, service provider contracts, investment management and investment advisor agreements and related plan and trust terms. We also advise the client (in its plan sponsor and plan fiduciary roles) with respect to changes in law, including evolving Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor (DOL), and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The engagements under the plans often require reviewing and negotiating investment advisory and other services agreements with the financial institutions and advising on related plan and trust provisions.
• Calfee is advising a public, multinational technology company with respect to (1) administration of distributions and tax withholding under the company’s nonqualified deferred compensation plans; (2) compliance with the DOL’s requirements for top hat plan filings; and (3) analysis of “compensation” for nonqualified deferred compensation plan administration and distribution purposes.
• Calfee is advising a publicly traded multilevel marketing company with respect to (1) updating the eligibility and vesting provisions of the company’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan; and (2) advising the company on the treatment of short-term disability pay under the non-qualified deferred compensation plan.

Presentations

• Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB), Northeast Ohio Chapter, Annual Legal and Regulatory Update, "ERISA Litigation Update," Cleveland, March 13, 2025