I can still remember the first hearing I argued at, close to twenty five years ago, in Massachusetts Superior Court, in the very quaint (realtor speak for old, but still) courthouse in Dedham – I can still see the dusty parking lot out back, the old wood banisters separating the lawyers from the public area
The Scope of Equitable Relief Under ERISA: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island v. Korsen
The equitable remedies prong of ERISA was, for many years, a place where theoretically good claims went to die: courts were wary of providing expansive recovery under it, and thus a plaintiff who could not fit a claim within the confines of the denial of benefits or breach of fiduciary duty causes of action under
ESOPs, Appraisers and Fiduciary Liability
There is much uproar at the moment over the possible expansion of fiduciary status to include appraisers, whose work includes valuing the assets held by the participants in ESOPs. Appraisers understandably do not want to assume that status, with its potential to turn them into defendants in ESOP breach of fiduciary duty litigation under ERISA
Do You Know a Governmental Plan When You See It?
Years ago, I worked with a client who liked to tell the story of having begun working with ERISA governed plans right after ERISA was enacted. He had been told by his bosses that there is this “new law,” and you are in charge of issues arising under it. That “new law,” of course, was
Player Safety and the Absence of Guaranteed Contracts in the NFL
I don’t want to turn this into a sports law blog, or – heaven forbid – an NFL blog (heaven knows, there are more than enough of those), but the latest work of the Washington Post on player injuries was too good to ignore. I promise, after this one, I will go back to ERISA
Who Should Pay the Medical Bills of Retired NFL Players?
I don’t think there’s a better sportswriter working regularly right now than Sally Jenkins, whose sportswriter father, Dan Jenkins, is personally responsible for my decision, more than a quarter century ago, to attend law school: his sportswriting was so strong, so funny, that it made it obvious that I would have been out
Microblogging About ERISA on Twitter
There have been many nice benefits to writing this blog for several years, ranging from the fun of writing it to the pleasure of meeting others with similar interests. For me professionally, though, probably the most important benefit has been the constant flow across my desk of key court decisions, articles and thought pieces on
My Journal of Pension Benefits Article on Operational Competence after Amara
For years, in speeches and articles, I have preached the gospel of what I have come to call “defensive plan building,” which is the process of systemically building out plan documents, procedures and operations in manners that will limit the likelihood of a plan sponsor or fiduciary being sued while increasing the likelihood that, if
How to Look Smart About McCutchen and Heimeshoff Without Really Trying
I have often joked that, to seem intelligent at social events, a person really just has to have two things handy – the first, a Noam Chomsky reference, and the second, a Shakespeare quote, preferably from a lesser play. If you are good, you can find a way to fit one or the other into