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Kelly C.
Simoneaux

Position
Partner
Office
New Orleans

Kelly Simoneaux is a partner and co-leads the Corporate Practice Group. She focuses on the corporate, tax, and securities aspects of executive compensation.


Kelly has extensive experience counseling public and private clients on a variety of compensation-related matters, including: advising boards and management on equity-based and other incentive plans and arrangements (annual bonus plans, stock option and restricted stock plans, phantom equity plans, and employee stock purchase plans), executive employment and change of control agreements, and deferred compensation arrangements; advising companies, directors, and executives on SEC compliance and disclosure requirements (proxy statement disclosures focused on executive compensation and corporate governance, Section 16 reporting and liability, Section 13 beneficial ownership reporting, Rule 10b5-1 plans, and insider trading); advising companies on executive compensation and equity award issues in merger and acquisition transactions; and advising public companies on corporate governance issues arising under state and federal law, SEC rules, NYSE and NASDAQ listing standards, as well as current governance trends and policies of institutional investors.

She also advises companies and executives on the federal tax rules applicable to executive compensation, including Section 409A governing deferred compensation, the Section 162(m) deduction limitation on compensation paid by public companies, Section 423 governing certain employee stock purchase plans, and Section 280G related to change of control related payments.

Kelly represents clients in a variety of industries, including banking and financial services, mining, energy, oil and gas, healthcare, insurance, and telecommunications. In addition, her clients include public companies, large, multi-national companies and smaller reporting companies, private companies, private equity firms and their portfolio companies, and individual executives.

Noteworthy

  • The Legal 500 United States, M&A/Corporate and Commercial – M&A: Middle-Market (sub-$500M) (2024)
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Corporate Law (2024, 2025 and 2026) and Securities Regulation (2025 and 2026)
  • Chambers USA, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (listed annually since 2023)
  • BTI Client Service All-Star (2018)
  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating in Martindale-Hubbell

Publications

  • "Gifts of Securities by Public Company Insiders: SEC Reporting Changes and Potential Insider Trading Liability," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, November 2, 2023
  • "SEC Adopts Amendments to and Issues Guidance Regarding Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, October 12, 2023
  • "New Executive Clawback Requirements Coming in 2023," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, December 21, 2022
  • "SEC Adopts Amendments to Rule 10b5-1 and Creates New Disclosure Requirements for Issuers and Insiders," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, December 21, 2022
  • "SEC Adopts Pay Versus Performance Disclosure Effective for 2023 Proxy Season," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, August 26, 2022
  • "SEC Proposes Changes to Beneficial Ownership Reporting," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, February 17, 2022
  • "2022 ISS and Glass Lewis Proxy Voting Guidelines Include Various ESG-Related Policy Updates," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, December 13, 2021
  • "SEC Proposes Amendments to Rule 144," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, March 22, 2021
  • "Department of Labor Issues Final Proxy Voting Rules for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries," Jones Walker LLP Employee Benefits Client Alert, January 12, 2021
  • "SEC Proposes Welcomed Amendments To Rule 701 and Form S-8," Jones Walker LLP Banking & Financial Services Newsletter, December 3, 2020
  • "Public Company Alert: Are You Ready for the New Human Capital Management Disclosure?" Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, October 28, 2020
  • "SEC Adopts Rules To Regulate Proxy Advisory Firms," Jones Walker LLP Corporate Client Alert, September 14, 2020
  • "Compensation Considerations for Emerging Biotech and Life Sciences Companies," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, June 30, 2020
  • "Tax Reform: Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits," Jones Walker LLP Tax Reform Client Alert Series, December 22, 2017
  • "CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure – Time to Prepare," Jones Walker LLP Corporate & Securities Client Alert, September 15, 2017
  • "Update on Dodd-Frank Compensation-Related Rulemaking," Jones Walker LLP Corporate & Securities Client Alert, July 31, 2015

Presentations

  • "Current Trends in Corporate Structures, Governance, and ESG and the Globalization of Stock Markets," 2022 Louisiana Energy Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 3, 2022
  • "Dos and Don'ts of Employment Agreements," Louisiana Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel Webinar, October 9, 2020
  • "Bank M&A Update" Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 15, 2015
  • "Bank M&A Update" Seminar, Birmingham, Alabama, October 13, 2015
  • "Hot Topics in Executive Compensation," Society of Louisiana CPAs: 2015 Employee Benefits Workshop, June 2015
  • "Executive Compensation Overview," Auburn University Bank Directors’ College, February 2015
  • "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Executive Compensation Provisions: One Year Later," SEC Institute Advanced Accounting & Reporting for SEC Professionals Conference, September 27, 2011

Memberships

  • American Bar Association, Taxation and Business Law Sections
  • Louisiana State Bar Association
  • National Association of Stock Plan Professionals
  • Society for Corporate Governance
New Orleans
201 St. Charles Ave
New Orleans, LA 70170-5100
D: 504.582.8326
F: 504.589.8326
Emailksimoneaux@joneswalker.com

Education

  • Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business
    Certified Equity Professional, 2013
  • Tulane University Law School
    JD, magna cum laude, 1993
    Order of the Coif; Member, Tulane Law Review
  • Louisiana State University
    BS, 1988

Bar Admissions

  • Louisiana

Related Practices

  • Corporate
  • Corporate Governance
  • Emerging Companies
  • Employee Benefits
  • Executive Compensation
  • Healthcare
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Private Equity
  • Securities
  • Tax

Related Industries

  • Banking & Financial Services Industry
  • Construction Industry
  • Healthcare Industry
  • Hospitality
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