Garra advises employers, plan sponsors, and fiduciaries on employee benefits and executive compensation matters under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, and related federal regulations. She works with a broad range of organizations, from privately held businesses to publicly traded companies and tax-exempt entities, and is skilled at navigating the unique regulatory and operational considerations each presents, including in the context of mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions.

Garra also assists clients with the design, implementation, and administration of equity and cash-based incentive arrangements, bonus programs, and nonqualified compensation structures. She provides practical guidance to employers on related complex tax and regulatory issues, including matters arising under Sections 280G and 409A. She also helps organizations develop thoughtful and creative approaches to rewarding and retaining employees, while staying aligned with business goals and legal requirements.

Her experience includes tax-qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, defined benefit pension plans, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Garra advises on plan implementation, operational or legally required amendments, participant communications, government filings, and correcting plan document and/or operational issues through IRS and DOL correction programs.

Garra also counsels clients on a variety of health and welfare benefit matters. This includes plan design, COBRA administration, HIPAA privacy and security compliance, and other routine issues that arise in administering health and welfare benefits.

Garra earned her Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law. While in law school, she served as a Notes and Comments Editor for the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy, was a member of the Moot Court Board, and worked as a research assistant. Before pursuing law, she worked for a global company supporting a range of digital platforms. That experience continues to inform her practical, business-focused approach to advising clients and understanding the operational realities behind legal issues.