M. Travis DeHaven

M. Travis Dehaven, our friend and colleague, passed away on August 20, 2024.

M. Travis DeHaven was a principal in the Atlanta, Georgia, office of Jackson Lewis P.C.

For more than 30 years, Travis focused his practice on all matters related to employee benefits and executive compensation including: employee benefits in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, cybersecurity, privacy and data protection and ERISA litigation.

Travis frequently provided strategic advice to boards of directors and advised plan fiduciaries and board members regarding their separate fiduciary duties, including those arising where company stock is offered as a form of plan investment. He worked with clients on plan administration compliance including negotiating third-party service provider contracts and voluntary self-correction matters, qualified and nonqualified deferred compensation design and compliance, incentive compensation and equity plans and arrangements, compliance with IRC 409A, and mergers and acquisitions.

Travis also provided ERISA litigation support for clients. He was lead outside ERISA counsel in Data Marketing Partnership et al v. U.S. Department of Labor et al. In this landmark ruling, which is currently up on appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a health insurance plan covering limited partners whose services to the partnership only included tracking and ultimately selling electronic data was determined to be governed by ERISA and, thereby, struck down a U.S. Department of Labor finding to the contrary.

Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Travis was a partner at two full-service national firms and one global firm. Travis had significant leadership responsibilities at his two former firms, including leader of employee benefits and executive compensation practice. Outside of work, Travis enjoyed cooking and traveling with family and friends. He was an avid bird hunter.

Honors and Recognitions

• The Best Lawyers in America©, “Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law” (2013-present)
• Martindale-Hubbell®, "AV Preeminent® - Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence" (2002-present)