Press Release

Spencer Fane Welcomes Back Noted Employee Benefits Practitioner

Issued by Spencer Fane

Sept. 7, 2023

Spencer Fane LLP is pleased to announce John Utz has rejoined the Employee Benefits team as a partner in the firm’s Overland Park office. He previously spent more than 15 years at the firm from 1982 to 1997.

Most recently, John practiced at a boutique law firm he helped found, focusing on employee benefits and executive compensation law. His extensive experience in private practice includes a proven ability to build and implement effective and legally compliant employee benefit programs and executive compensation packages important to success, profitability, and employee recruitment and retention. He handles all matters affecting pension, profit sharing, and 401(k) plans, health and welfare programs, as well as ESOPs, Section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, Section 457 plans, stock options, nonqualified deferred compensation, incentive pay, and severance pay.

John’s clients include a wide variety of large and mid-size employers, benefit plan fiduciaries, and benefit plan service providers.

“Our firm openly embraced the opportunity to welcome back an attorney with such a respected and well-earned reputation in the legal community,” said Blane Markley, Office Managing Partner for Spencer Fane in Overland Park. “John brings an unwavering dedication to his clients and is a notable resource in the ever-expanding scope of employee benefits work necessary in a complex environment of regulations and compliance critical to business operations.”

A Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and the American College of Tax Counsel, John has established a well-deserved reputation for being a sought-after thought leader in the community. For instance, he has published more than 100 articles in professional journals and shared timely and relevant insights at hundreds of speaking opportunities at local, regional, and national professional events – both private and public. He is also active in the American Bar Association, having served as chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the Section of Taxation and on several subcommittees.

John completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri and later earned a master’s in mathematics from the University of Illinois and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law.

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