Best Lawyers Near You in Chicago, Illinois for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
Practice Area Overview
Employee benefits law is a practice area for lawyers who counsel employers on different types of retirement and welfare benefit plans, with particular emphasis on benefits arrangements regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (commonly known as “ERISA”).
ERISA lawyers, sometimes referred to as employee benefits attorneys, can provide legal guidance and representation to employers, plan sponsors, plan administrators, trustees and other parties involved in employee benefit plans. They may help with the creation and administration of these plans, as well as compliance with ERISA regulations and other laws governing employee benefits.
Some specific tasks an ERISA lawyer might handle include drafting plan documents, advising on plan design and operation, handling claims and disputes, representing clients in court or before regulatory agencies and providing guidance on tax and other related issues.
Areas of Focus for an ERISA Attorney:
Depending on their particular interests and expertise, an ERISA attorney may focus on a variety of areas related to employee benefits and retirement plans. Some common areas of focus include:
Plan Design and Drafting
An ERISA attorney can assist in the design and drafting of employee benefit plans, including pension plans, 401(k) plans and health and welfare plans.
Plan Administration
ERISA attorneys can advise plan sponsors and administrators on their duties and obligations under ERISA, including compliance with reporting and disclosure requirements. ERISA lawyers can also provide guidance on strategies to minimize the risk of claims and disputes related to employee benefit plans.
Fiduciary Responsibilities
ERISA attorneys can provide guidance on fiduciary responsibilities and liability, including investment decisions, plan expenses and potential conflicts of interest. ERISA lawyers can also review investment decisions made by plan fiduciaries to ensure that they are in compliance with ERISA regulations and that they align with the goals and objectives of the plan.
Plan Audits and Investigations
ERISA attorneys may represent clients in plan audits or investigations conducted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the Department of Labor (DOL). An ERISA lawyer can help plan sponsors and administrators navigate the audit or investigation process, ensuring that they are in compliance with ERISA regulations and minimizing any potential liability or financial impact.
Claims and Disputes
ERISA attorneys can handle claims and disputes related to employee benefit plans, including disputes over benefit entitlement, breach of fiduciary duty and alleged violations of ERISA.
Benefits Litigation
ERISA attorneys can represent clients in litigation related to employee benefits and retirement plans, including claims for benefits, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims under ERISA.
Other Aspects of Work for ERISA Lawyers
As mentioned before, employee benefits law encompasses a wide spectrum of matters, including assisting clients with ongoing compliance matters relating to new statutes and regulations.
ERISA law also requires working with government agencies in connection with voluntary corrections, closing agreements, audits and investigations. This may involve working with organizations including:
- Internal Revenue Service.
- Department of Labor.
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
In many of the top ERISA law firms, 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 legal services 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.
- 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.
- Claims challenging plan restrictions on particular types of coverage.
ERISA lawyers can represent corporations in benefits litigation, as lawyers for employees in a dispute or as counsel on a host of employment law matters. Hiring an ERISA lawyer can help protect interests, ensure compliance with ERISA regulations and mitigate the financial risk associated with employee benefit plans.
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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 ...
Matthew Antinossi's practice includes all ERISA-related areas, and he has extensive experience with the employee benefits aspects of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, including ESOP transactions. In addition to his transactional practice, Matthew is frequently involved in representing debtors in the employee benefits aspects of bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring. Such representations frequently involve resolution of complex ERISA Title IV issues. A significant portion of Matthew's...
Jeffrey J. Bakker provides strategic counsel to clients nationwide concerning every executive compensation and employee benefit matter that affects their businesses, including designing and preparing deferred compensation and equity compensation plans, maintaining ERISA and tax compliance for all qualified and nonqualified retirement plans (defined contribution, defined benefit and cash balance plans) and representing clients in Department of Labor benefits plan audits. Jeff regularly advises...
Ted Becker is Co-Chair of McDermott’s ERISA Litigation Team and a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. He focuses his practice on litigation under ERISA and related federal and state actions, and defense of government investigations and audits relating to employee benefit, health and welfare, and retirement plans brought by the US Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the US Department of Justice. He is a leading voice and nationally recognized p...
Patty advises employers, fund sponsors and investors on compliance with the legal rules that regulate benefit plans and funds in which benefit plans invest. Patty advises employers on the full spectrum of employee benefit matters, with a particular focus on the design, implementation and administration of broad-based pension and retirement plans, health and other welfare benefit plans, and executive compensation programs. She has extensive experience in assisting employers with unionized and ...
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...
Andrew advises public and private companies on plan design and administration, fiduciary responsibility, claims procedures, and disclosure requirements under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, and other laws. He has extensive experience guiding them regarding the legal, financial, and administrative issues that affect qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and other employee benefit arrangements, including issues that arise during mergers, acquisitions, and othe...
Sarah Engle focuses her practice on employee benefits matters. She counsels clients regarding a variety of issues, including the design, drafting and operation of tax-qualified pension and profit sharing plans, health and welfare arrangements, and deferred compensation plans. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/engle-sarah/
Michael Falk is a partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Michael advises clients in connection with qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, executive and equity compensation, Code Section 409A, Code Section 280G, and the compensation aspects of mergers and acquisitions. His experience includes assisting clients with the design and implementation of defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans, and equity/incentiv...
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...
Jeffrey (Jeff) M. Holdvogt regularly counsels public and privately held companies and tax-exempt organizations on a wide range of employee benefits matters. These include the design and administration of complex pension, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, nonqualified and executive deferred compensation arrangements, fiduciary and plan investment issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), internal compliance reviews and voluntary correction filings, and benefit plan matters arisi...
Linda assists clients on a wide variety of employee benefit matters, including the design and ongoing administration of qualified retirement benefit plans and welfare benefit plans. Her practice also focuses on ensuring that retirement plans and health and welfare plans operate in a cost-effective manner that complies with legislative and regulatory changes. She also assists clients with drafting and updating such plans as well as with plan mergers and terminations. She has experience handlin...
Lisa Loesel focuses her practice on employee benefits matters, including the design, amendment and administration of pension and 401(k) plans, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, and employee stock ownership plans. She counsels privately and publicly held corporations regarding the employee benefits design and transition matters arising from corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. She also advises clients regarding fiduciary and plan investment issues under the Employee...
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 brings to the table more than 30 years of experience advising companies and executives on best practices in executive and board compensation. Working within the framework of tax, accounting, SEC reporting, and bank regulatory issues, Don helps guide his clients on how best to recruit, incentivize, and retain top talent as well as advise individual executives in their transition into and out of C-Suite positions. Don is a partner in BFKN’s Compensation & Employment Group (having ...
Maureen O'Brien is a partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Maureen's practice includes a broad range of employee benefits and executive compensation matters, and she has extensive experience with the M&A aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation, including strategic and private equity transactions. Maureen advises clients on the design and implementation of qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, welfare plans, Section 409A matters and equity and in...
When corporate management and benefit plan fiduciaries need a highly experienced counselor to represent their interests in employment and compensation, tax, litigation, corporate planning, fiduciary responsibilities, or plan administration matters, they turn to attorney Lee Polk. Lee is adept at representing clients in business transactions and dealings with government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. C...
Todd A. Solomon focuses his practice on designing, amending and administering pension, profit sharing, 401(k), employee stock ownership and 403(b) plans, as well as nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. He also counsels privately and publicly held corporations and tax-exempt entities regarding fiduciary issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), employee benefits issues involved in corporate transactions, executive compensation matters and the implementation ...
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 ...
Brian J. Tiemann counsels public and private companies on a broad range of employee benefit matters, including matters related to pension plans, 401(k) plans and executive and incentive compensation. He advises plan fiduciaries with respect to their fiduciary duties, investment policies and alternative investments. He also advises multinational clients on global employee benefits matters, particularly with respect to global incentive compensation plans. Brian has extensive experience negotiat...
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 ...
Regina Couto is an associate in the firm’s ERISA & Executive Compensation practice and assists with a wide range of compensation and benefits matters. Ms. Couto advises both public and private companies on tax and securities law issues in connection with mergers and acquisitions, financings, initial public offerings and other corporate transactions. Ms. Couto is admitted to practice in Illinois only. She is working under the supervision of the partners at Goodwin.
Kent Maze is an associate in the Chicago, Illinois, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He assists employers with ERISA, executive compensation, and employee benefits matters. Kent works with all types of employer-provided employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements. He enjoys helping clients drive success by developing creative, practical solutions. As a former high school teacher, he excels at presenting material in a clear, accessible way. One of his favorite parts of his pract...
Sarah G. Raaii focuses her practice on employee benefits and matters related to health care reform, data privacy and HIPAA compliance, executive compensation, and health and welfare, cafeteria, 401(k), 403(b) and pension plans. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/sarah-g-raaii/
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