Barry Downey, CEO

Barry is the CEO and a co-founder of Smith & Downey, a U.S. law firm with a practice concentrating in employee benefits, executive compensation, and labor and employment law.

Barry’s practice deals with all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation law, for clients ranging from professional and entrepreneurial firms with just a few employees to international conglomerates with hundreds of thousands of employees. He represents publicly traded, privately held, tax-exempt, church related and governmental employers, as well as service firms — such as financial institutions, third-party administrators, benefits consultants, insurance professionals and accounting firms — that provide employers with employee benefits and executive compensation services.

Barry is a frequent speaker and panelist throughout the U.S. and internationally at educational programs in the employee benefits and executive compensation areas, and regularly provides training to plan fiduciaries, executive compensation service providers, and to employers that sponsor multiple and complex employee benefit and executive compensation programs.

Barry is a co-author of the training materials used to support the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) Nonqualified Plan Consultant (NQPC) Certificate Program for the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) (dba/American Retirement Association).

Barry also is a co-author of the Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Answer Book, now in its Eleventh Edition, published by Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. (Copyright © 2021 CCH Incorporated).

Since 1995, Barry has received the highest possible peer review ratings from Martindale Hubbell (AV^® Preeminent^TM) for ethical standards and professional ability. Since 2010, Barry has been peer selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. Barry also is Ranked in Chambers.