I promised awhile back that I would run more interviews at some point on this blog, and we return today to our – granted, somewhat sporadic – series of interviews with movers and shakers in the worlds of ERISA and insurance. What provoked me to get back into the interviewing business, which I noted before
401(k) Plans
Protecting Corporate Officers from Fiduciary Exposure
Here’s an interesting article on one particular aspect of ERISA breach of fiduciary duty cases, namely the targeting as defendants of executive officers of the company sponsoring a pension or 401(k) plan; the gist of the article is that there are tactical and psychological benefits that accrue to counsel representing plan participants when they name…
Roundup at the LaRue Corral
Thoughts on the Oral Argument in LaRue v. DeWolf, Boberg
Just read the transcript of Monday’s oral argument in LaRue, which you too can read right here. Interesting argument, and interesting lines of questions from the court, although I am skeptical as to how much guidance as to the court’s thinking one can draw from the Justice’s questions themselves. In many ways, the…
LaRue v DeWolff, Broberg and the Concept of Administration Risk in ERISA Plans
Oral argument at the Supreme Court is scheduled for Monday in LaRue v DeWolff, Broberg & Associates, which presents the technical question of whether a loss to only one participant’s 401(k) plan is actionable as a breach of fiduciary duty causing a loss to the plan, but which on a broader level concerns the…
Is Subprime the New Stock Drops?
The consensus in the legal community, and I don’t think it is just because they are looking hopefully for a new flow of work, has for awhile now been that fund investment losses resulting from exposure to the subprime mortgage mess will eventually generate substantial ERISA related litigation. There are plenty of avenues for these…
ERISA, Investment Strategies and the Duty to Investigate
ERISA litigation, particularly in the area of retirement benefits, is one of those areas of the law that can be particularly complicated because both the governing body of law and the underlying fact pattern to which it is applied can be tremendously complex. Take, for instance, the example of disputes over whether the fiduciaries of…
Sex, Lies and 401(k) Plans?
Well, that is probably overselling this post, but we couldn’t resist the play on the title of the much hyped, much overrated 1989 movie. Regardless, here is an interesting story, out of the soap opera meets 401(k) genre, concerning questions that have arisen over the administration of a prominent law firm’s 401(k) plan…
Number of Suits + Questionable Practices = X
I have talked, certainly more than once, about the fact that the law governing fiduciary obligations in the realm of retirement plans is evolving, and most recently I commented on how it looks as though the Supreme Court is poised to weigh in on the direction of this evolution in the case law. Some of…
More on Whether Socially Conscious Investing Is a Breach of Fiduciary Duty
I have raised before the question of whether so-called socially conscious investing would be a breach of fiduciary duty if undertaken by a pension plan or 401(k) fiduciary. The National Law Journal has a neat opinion piece by law professor Edward Zelinsky right now to the effect that it would be. Here’s a link…