Michael D. Foster became Managing Member of the Firm on July 1, 2007, having previously served as Assistant Managing Member from 2002‑2007 and as a member of the Firm's Executive Committee for two separate terms. In 1989, he co‑founded the Employee Benefits Group of the Firm and has headed the Group since that time. The Employee Benefits Group focuses on providing administrative and consulting services in the qualified plan area and employs a staff of six non‑lawyers. It provides administrative services to over 300 defined contribution plans and provides legal services to clients of the Firm. Mr. Foster's practice focuses on the design of qualified plans for owner‑employees and the leveraging of employer contributions in favor of owners and highly‑compensated employees. In addition, with rising health care costs, Mr. Foster devotes substantial time to the design of self‑funded medical plans. Mr. Foster also is actively involved in the non‑qualified plan arena and has significant experience in deferred compensation plans for not‑for‑profit organizations. Mr. Foster has had extensive experience dealing with United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds both in the area of the Multi‑employer Pension Plan Amendment Act and the Coal Industry Health Benefits Act. Mr. Foster is past President of the Charleston Estate Planning Council and has been listed in Woodward/White's publication The Best Lawyers in America® for more than two decades. While attending New York University, he was a student Editor of the Tax Law Review. On a local level, he is a past member of the Board of Directors and served as Treasurer of the Berry Hills Country Club and is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Charleston Tennis Club.