Foley & Lardner LLP is a great place to work because of what we do and how we do it. Here, your unique perspectives, experiences, and abilities will be embraced and developed, so you can excel. Being a part of Foley means having the opportunities and resources necessary to gain experience, advance professional goals, and forge meaningful connections. It’s a place where you can build your career and enjoy professionally satisfying work. We have over 2,300 people who are #HappyatFoley, and we think you will be too.
The Benefits & Compensation Specialist supports the administration, analysis, and continuous improvement of the firm's benefits and compensation programs. This role serves as a key resource for employees, managers, and internal stakeholders by providing day-to-day support for benefit programs, compensation processes, data management, reporting, and compliance activities. The position partners closely with Payroll, Talent, vendors, and benefit carriers to ensure accurate program administration, data integrity, and a positive employee experience. The Specialist also supports annual compensation and benefits cycles, system enhancements, reporting, and process improvement initiatives.
ResponsibilitiesBenefits Administration & Employee Support- Administer the firm’s health and welfare benefit programs, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and voluntary benefit plans.
- Serve as a primary contact for employee inquiries regarding benefits, compensation, eligibility, enrollments, life events, claims issues, and policy interpretation.
- Lead annual open enrollment activities, including system set up, testing, employee communications, data validation, and issue resolution.
- Act as liaison between employees, vendors, and benefit carriers to resolve operational and service issues.
- Review and audit eligibility and deduction files to ensure accurate payroll processing and vendor reporting.
- Support compliance activities related to ACA, ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, and other benefit plan requirements.
- Administer compensation programs, including salary changes, promotions, market adjustments, reclassifications, and other compensation actions.
- Coordinate and support the annual compensation planning and merit review process, including system configuration, testing, reporting, validation, and audit activities.
- Maintain compensation structures, salary plans, pay ranges, and related HRIS configuration.
- Participate in external compensation surveys and assist with market benchmarking and competitive pay analyses.
- Prepare compensation reports and analyses to support decision-making and workforce planning.
- Support administration of firm recognition and reward programs, including the Key Contribution Award process.
- Maintain and audit compensation and benefits data across HRIS, payroll, vendor, and carrier systems.
- Validate eligibility, deduction, and compensation data to support accurate payroll processing and reporting.
- Support system upgrades, testing, implementations, and ongoing maintenance activities.
- Develop and maintain procedures, workflows, training materials, and process documentation.
- Identify and recommend opportunities to improve efficiency, automation, reporting, and employee experience.
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- Minimum of three (3) years of health and welfare benefit administration required.
- Compensation program administration exposure required.
- Experience with HRIS platforms required.
- Familiarity with retirement benefits preferred.
In support of transparency and equity in the workplace, Foley provides salary ranges for all positions. The figures below represent the full compensation range for this position. The actual offered amount will be between the range minimum and midpoint based on the following factors: education, experience, geographic market, and internal pay equity at Foley.#LI-Hybrid
-Milwaukee - $77,500 to $108,500 #LI-Hybrid
-Chicago, Dallas - $85,300 - $119,400
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree
- At least three years of health and welfare benefits administration experience
- Experience administering compensation programs
- Experience with HRIS platforms
- Familiarity with retirement benefits
Foley & Lardner LLP Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Foley & Lardner LLP and has not been reviewed or approved by Foley & Lardner LLP.
-
Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered market and lockstep for the first three years, with a clear early structure that reduces pay‑equity ambiguity for juniors. Bonus eligibility milestones and billable‑credit rules are described upfront, supporting predictability early on.
-
Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is described at up to 18 weeks for both primary and secondary caregivers, with adoption and surrogacy support available. Backup dependent care is also highlighted.
-
Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Firm well‑being programming (Best Self), mental‑health initiatives, and structured professional development are emphasized. Flexible work options and hybrid expectations are noted, varying by team and office.
Foley & Lardner LLP Insights
What We Do
Foley & Lardner LLP looks beyond the law to focus on the constantly evolving demands facing our clients and their industries. With over 1,100 lawyers in 25 offices worldwide, Foley approaches client service by first understanding our clients’ priorities, objectives, and challenges. We work hard to understand our clients’ issues and forge long-term relationships with them to help achieve successful outcomes and solve their legal issues through practical business advice and cutting-edge legal insight. Our clients view us as trusted business advisors because we understand that great legal service is only valuable if it is relevant, practical and beneficial to their businesses. Learn more at Foley.com. Content may include attorney advertising.





.jpg)


