ERISA Litigation
Alston & Bird’s ERISA litigation group is among the largest in the country, with 14 attorneys located in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Atlanta who specialize in ERISA and employee benefits disputes. We have extraordinary depth and breadth of experience in ERISA litigation and related issues, with special insights into the federal regulatory agencies in the nation’s capital overseeing such matters. Ours is one of only a few firms anywhere with attorneys who are both comprehensively trained ERISA practitioners and trial lawyers. Our approach differs from other firms which staff their ERISA cases with general litigators who consult with the firms’ ERISA lawyers. Our ERISA litigation group’s full time concentration on ERISA litigation brings strategic and substantive expertise together, and our extraordinary success in these matters demonstrates the superiority of our approach.
EXPERIENCE
Alston & Bird has handled more major ERISA class actions than any of our peer firms. We have defended clients on a wide range of matters, including:
NATIONAL PRACTICE
Alston & Bird's ERISA litigation practice is truly national in scope having successfully represented clients across the country, including in federal courts from Oregon and California, to Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas and Indiana, to Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania to Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Texas and Florida.
RECOGNITION
Alston & Bird's ERISA litigation practice is ranked by Chambers & Partners as one of the leading in the nation, citing two lawyers as among the nation's elite ERISA litigation attorneys. Chambers has said of the practice, "This dedicated unit is home to a group of knowledgeable and determined ERISA litigators who are equally comfortable advising on the esoteric details of ERISA law as they are fighting for a client in the courtroom," and “Alston is a good choice for significant cases.”
WHY ALSTON & BIRD?
Successful outcomes delivered with maximum efficiency. We look for ways to win or resolve the dispute, at the earliest possible stage. Our combined litigation and substantive expertise provides our clients with superior service, while keeping costs as low as possible.
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Employer Stock Litigation
The publicity surrounding such high-profile corporate collapses as Enron and WorldCom, combined with stock market losses in recent years, have generated a large number of suits challenging the prudence of investments in employer securities. We have won more of these cases than any firm in the country – more than half a dozen on motions to dismiss, and class certification on two others. Representative clients in this area include Nokia, Amgen, Colonial BancGroup, ChoicePoint, The Coca-Cola Company, Avaya BellSouth, Healthways, Mirant, Allegheny Energy, and Louisiana-Pacific.
Investment and Fee-based Litigation
Among the newest targets of the plaintiffs’ bar and the DOL are 401k fees and investments. We have both defended and counseled numerous clients in these matters, including Great-West, First Union (now Wells Fargo), AIG, SunAmerica, FSC Securities, Anheuser-Busch, and the National Association of Counties.
Defined Benefit Plan Litigation
We have been defending anti-cutback, backloading, and cash balance litigation since their inception. One of our practitioners is a Fellow in the Society of Pension Actuaries, and his insights into strategies and defenses is a unique aspect of the expertise and efficiency we offer clients in such matters. Representative clients in this area include the Governor, Attorney General and CFO of the State of Florida, Delta Airlines, Prudential, Cingular Wireless, Georgia Pacific, and Duke Energy.
Retiree Health and Welfare Benefits
Rising health care costs have resulted in numerous companies examining the continued feasibility of retaining their post-retirement welfare benefit plans. We have over 25 years of experience in advising clients on whether their post-retirement welfare benefits plans may be modified or terminated, and successfully defending clients against challenges to the termination of such benefits, under both ERISA and the LMRA. Representative clients in this area include American General (now AIG), Washington Group International, Atlantic Steel Industries, ABB Combustion Engineering, Duke Energy and PanEnergy.
Claim & Claim Process Litigation
In addition to litigation avoidance planning, we have been involved recently in a growing number of suits challenging the sufficiency of the claim review process itself, rather than the results of any particular claim. These suits are invariably class actions that claim defects in the claim review process resulted in defective decisions and require the rehearing of claims for all participants affected by the alleged defect. Representative clients in this type of dispute include Prudential, UPS, The Coca-Cola Company and BellSouth.
Private ESOPs
Valuation of employer securities in connection with transactions is often a contentious issue, particularly when such securities subsequently lose value. These transactions continue to spawn significant litigation, and our experience with these cases is unmatched. Our clients include the Chairman of the Board of US Sugar, officers of Tom’s Foods, and C&S Bank (one of the earliest institutional trustees to develop this business).
Multi-Employer Plans
Not only do we counsel and represent companies in their dealings with multiemployer plans, but also advise and represent plan sponsors and fiduciaries of multiemployer plans on matters ranging from withdrawal liability to the unique and often complex prohibited transaction issues involving the investment of plan assets. We also represent plan sponsors and fiduciaries in litigation arising from ERISA’s stringent fiduciary duties. This not only provides us with a wide range of experience in dealing with multi-employer plan issues, but sets us apart by giving us an understanding of how multiemployer plans operate internally and how decisions are made. We are able to use this knowledge to obtain the best possible results for our clients.
Fiduciary/Compliance Audits
Through our contacts and experience with the DOL, PBGC and the IRS, we have been able to provide outstanding results in engagements for Unum and Ahold, among others. In addition, our litigation experience gives us a unique perspective on litigation avoidance techniques, leading to numerous fiduciary reviews for Fortune 500 companies.