Find Lawyers in Chicago, Illinois for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law - Chicago, Illinois
About this Practice Area
Joseph (Joe) S. Adams focuses his practice exclusively on employee benefits and executive compensation, and has represented some of the largest companies in the world and many prominent "C-suite" executives with respect to such matters. Please read more here: https://www.winston.com/en/who-we-are/professionals/adams-joseph-s.html
Mina Amir-Mokri practices broadly in the area of employee benefits and executive compensation. A clear, concise communicator, Mina is appreciated for her creativity, productive and balanced approach to negotiation, and practical, streamlined solutions to the often complex challenges her clients face. Mina’s clients include executives, public and private companies, tax-exempt organizations and bankruptcy constituencies. She negotiates, designs and drafts compensation arrangements, stock ...
Jeffrey J. Bakker represents companies with respect to a wide array of executive compensation and employee benefit matters, including: designing and preparing deferred compensation and equity compensation plans; ensuring tax and ERISA compliance of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans (including defined contribution, defined benefit and cash balance plans); advising clients as to their fiduciary responsibilities with respect to employee benefit plans; and counseling clients on the adm...
Patricia S. Cain advises employers on a broad range of employee benefit matters, including counseling employers on the design, implementation and administration of broad-based pension and health care plans and executive compensation arrangements. She represents employers in ruling requests and controversies before the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. She also represents employers and benefit plans in disputes arising under benefit plans, ...
Susan Daley is a partner with Perkins Coie and has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of executive compensation, securities and employee benefits. She is currently President of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals, Chair of the Federal Securities Law Subcommittee of the Employee Benefits Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, and a member of the BNA Pension & Benefits Advisory Board. She is a former Chair of the Ill...
Yelena Gray advises employers of all types and sizes on issues related to employee benefit plan design, implementation, administration and regulatory compliance. Yelena also assists clients in negotiating employment agreements and structuring executive compensation. What do you focus on? I assist employers with the design and operation of employee benefit plans in the exceedingly complex regulatory environment. Leveraging 17 years of experience advising private, public, tax-exempt and employe...
As the principal author of the IRS regulations on voluntary employees' beneficiary associations (VEBAs), Russell Greenblatt is uniquely qualified to help companies find the best employee welfare benefits plan for their workforce and shareholders. Russell's practice focuses primarily on these plans and funding vehicles for them such as VEBAs. Russell's experience with employee benefits includes design, documentation and implementation of employee welfare trusts. He shows large employers and th...
Paul is a senior partner in the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group, which represents firm clients in a wide variety of employee benefit plan matters and ERISA litigation. Paul serves as employee benefits counsel to large and mid-sized companies across many industries, including financial services, food/beverage, healthcare, higher education, information technology, media and law. Paul has extensive and unique experience in PBM contracting, PBM compliance audits ...
Leslie A. Klein has more than 25 years of experience advising publicly held companies, privately held companies, not-for-profit corporations, fiduciaries and executives in all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation. He is recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel for having made significant contributions to the advancement of the field of employee benefits. Les regularly counsels clients in connection with pension, profit sharing, cash balanc...
Susan is highly regarded nationally in the area of health care reform and health and welfare benefits. She assists employers and health plans with their health care reform strategy and compliance with laws affecting group health plans, such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the CARES Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, and the Internal Revenue Code. Susan also has extensiv...
Don heads the Compensation & Employment Group of the Firm, concentrating his practice in executive compensation and employee benefits. He served as in-house tax and benefits counsel at an asset management company with more than $180 billion under management. Prior to joining the Firm, Don practiced at one of the nation's largest law firms. Don offers our clients more than 30 years of experience dealing with complex compensation matters. Don represents entities, individuals and compensatio...
Mark E. Schmidtke represents clients in ERISA and Non-ERISA employee benefits matters in state and federal courts throughout the United States for nearly 30 years. He has been lead or co-lead counsel in ERISA litigation matters pending in the courts of 49 states. He has argued appeals in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits, as well as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Minnesota Suprem...
Tim Stanton is an energetic advocate for and trusted advisor to inside counsel and benefits and HR executives. His clients include: retailers and wholesalers; insurance, banking and financial services firms; and food companies and manufacturers, as well as colleges and universities. Tim actively counsels clients on the roller coaster ride that is national health care reform, as well as on ERISA fiduciary duties, health information privacy and security, retiree medical age discrimination, and ...
Anna serves as the vice-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s national Labor & Employment Department, where she has been integral to the growth and success of the firm’s L&E practice. Working out of the Chicago office, employers engage her to represent them in high-stakes, high-profile labor and employment litigation before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. She is also widely recognized as a “go to” legal resource for institutions of higher educat...
Brenna Woodley is a skilled litigator and counselor who takes a holistic approach to her client’s labor and employment matters and other class action matters. In addition to her years of experience counseling employers and litigating the full spectrum of labor and employment matters before federal and state courts and in arbitrations and administrative proceedings before government agencies, Brenna also has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector. She has worked in direct services ...
Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law Definition
Single-employer, multi-employer, and collectively bargained pension plans provide benefits to plan participants and beneficiaries through various arrangements, including pension, profit sharing, annuity, 401(k), and employee stock ownership plans, as well as through various group life insurance, medical, hospitalization, dental, severance, and other health and welfare benefit plans.
Employee benefits law encompasses a wide spectrum of matters, including planning, drafting, and updating qualified and nonqualified retirement plan documents, and assisting clients with ongoing compliance matters relating to new statutes and regulations. It also requires working with government agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in connection with voluntary corrections, closing agreements, audits, and investigations.
Employee benefits law practitioners are called upon to identify special issues and potential problems in corporate and partnership reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, and securities transactions. Lawyers work closely with public and private investment funds to counsel on fiduciary duties, prohibited transactions, and various tax issues related to plan asset investments.
Executive compensation matters are an important component of employee benefits law and involve advising clients on the tax and accounting concerns surrounding equity-based compensation, bonus arrangements, supplemental retirement and deferred compensation plans, executive employment and severance arrangements, and securities law compliance.
Employee benefits lawyers assist in ERISA litigation disputes to prosecute and defend a wide variety of fiduciary duty claims on behalf of employee benefit plans, plan trustees and plan service providers, including claims arising from significant plan investment losses, claims challenging plan amendments or terminations, and claims challenging plan restrictions on particular types of coverage.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.
In Brief
Georgia Laws Taking Effect in 2022
Three new pieces of Georgia legislation aim to improve medical bill transparency, lower the sales tax on vehicles and enact further safeguards to protect children in foster care.
On Neutral Ground
Years after the American Bar Association resolution on diversifying the pool of neutrals, alternative dispute resolution panels still fall short.
Largest Pain and Suffering Award Affirmed in New York History
Preeminent trial lawyer Benedict Morelli on achieving a precedent shifting result.
New England States With Incoming Legislation
Best Lawyers takes an in depth look at newly proposed bills, litigation and cases coming out of four New England states.
Loaded Arguments
The historic Sandy Hook settlement may set precedent for future liability, while some states loosen their gun laws.
Activism In Action
From action to “Action!,” Jeffery Robinson’s Who We Are project and new documentary chronicle his efforts to expose, confront and put a stop to the country’s long history of anti-Black racism.
