Benefits

  • December 10, 2025

    Tribal Casino Must Face 401(k) Fee Suit Over High Costs

    A tribal hospitality and casino company must face a suit claiming its 401(k) retirement plan was bogged down by exorbitant costs and underperforming investment options, following a New York federal judge's refusal to toss the proposed class action.

  • December 10, 2025

    Akerman Beats Healthcare Cos.' Bid To Escape Fee Suit

    Akerman LLP can continue its fees lawsuit against Rennova Health Inc. and other defendants after they lost their motion to dismiss the suit for being "facially time-barred, factually flawed and legally indefensible," a Florida state judge has ruled.

  • December 10, 2025

    4th Circ. Icy To Reviving Retired Miners' Health Coverage Fight

    The Fourth Circuit seemed disinclined Wednesday to reopen a dispute over lifetime retirement health and life insurance benefits from a proposed class of retired coal miners, as two judges knocked the coal company's attempt to pick apart the results of a seven-day bench trial that broadly favored them.

  • December 10, 2025

    NY Clinic Settles Retaliation Suit With Doctor

    A physician has agreed to settle his suit accusing a medical clinic of withholding his bonus and then firing him for complaining about unsanitary conditions in an autopsy suite, a New York federal judge said, discontinuing the case.

  • December 09, 2025

    7th Circ. Mulls Pension Plan's Decision To Expel Penske Unit

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Tuesday suggested Penske's push for the judicial review of trustees' internal decision-making was a "long and new stretch" in a dispute over whether a Teamsters pension plan had the power to expel a Penske bargaining unit in Dallas, questioning what law authorizes such scrutiny.

  • December 09, 2025

    Co-Founder Gave Up Stock Rights, Weapons Co. Tells Chancery

    Armaments Research Co. Inc., a weapons analytics company that uses AI, told the Delaware Chancery Court on Tuesday that its co-founder relinquished the contractual rights he now seeks to enforce over the valuation of his repurchased shares.

  • December 09, 2025

    US Asks 5th Circ. To Revive ACA Employer Tax Penalties

    The IRS properly penalized a janitorial services company for failing to provide employees with healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. government said, urging the Fifth Circuit to reverse a Texas federal court ruling that voided regulations promulgating the penalties.

  • December 09, 2025

    Wells Fargo $84M ERISA Stock Option Suit Deal Initially OK'd

    A Minnesota federal court gave its initial sign-off to an $84 million settlement that Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay to end a class action alleging that the bank ran afoul of federal benefits law when it used dividends earned by its employee stock ownership plan to meet its 401(k) matching obligations.

  • December 09, 2025

    IRS Provides Guidance On Health Savings Account Expansion

    The IRS provided guidance Tuesday on new tax benefits for Health Savings Account participants, including a provision making bronze and catastrophic plans available through the Affordable Care Act marketplace HSA-compatible, even if they don't meet the definition of a high-deductible health plan.

  • December 09, 2025

    3rd Circ. Won't Let Post-Gazette Duck Benefits Injunction

    A Third Circuit panel is standing by its decision to let an injunction against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette remain active while the newspaper appeals, saying it won't reconsider its Nov. 24 refusal to stay an injunction requiring the paper to restore its workers' pre-2020 benefits.

  • December 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Vacates Benefits Ruling In Black Lung Case

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday vacated a ruling that awarded survivors benefits to the widow of a railroad engineer who died after yearslong exposure to coal dust, finding the U.S. Department of Labor review board wrongly determined that a preparation plant was part of an underground coal mine. 

  • December 08, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs EIDP In Dispute Over Annuity Reductions

    The Fourth Circuit backed agricultural chemical giant EIDP Inc. and its retirement plan administrator in a Monday opinion, finding that unambiguous contract language doomed the revival of a lawsuit from a retired employee who said his monthly benefit was unfairly reduced.

  • December 08, 2025

    Ex-Kellogg Worker's Suit Over 401(k) Fees Tossed For Good

    Kellogg escaped a former employee's proposed class action alleging the food manufacturer lost its workers millions in retirement savings because of excessive recordkeeping fees, after a Michigan federal judge ruled Monday that the allegations failed to state a claim for violating federal benefits law. 

  • December 08, 2025

    NY Hotel Ordered To Pay $4.1M In Union Benefits Dispute

    A Manhattan hotel operator must hand over $4.1 million to a hotel and hospital workers union, a New York federal judge ruled, finding that the operator has failed to respond to accusations that it owes money to multiple health benefit funds.

  • December 08, 2025

    Schnader Harrison ERISA Class Attys Seek Cut Of $675K Deal

    Class members who scored a $675,000 settlement resolving their case alleging the defunct firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP misdirected money meant for attorneys' retirement accounts have asked a Pennsylvania federal judge for counsel fees in the amount of one-third of the settlement.

  • December 08, 2025

    Smith & Nephew Settles 401(k) Fee Dispute

    A Massachusetts federal judge stayed a proposed federal benefits class action Monday against Smith & Nephew that accused the medical device company of imposing excessive fees on an employee 401(k) plan, after the parties told the court they had agreed to settle their dispute.

  • December 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Won't Pause Medicaid Rule Amid Fla. Hospital Audit

    An Eleventh Circuit panel revived Florida's lawsuit against a federal rule that reduces Medicaid funding based on agreements between hospitals, but upheld a lower court's decision to deny the state's request for an injunction after finding it wouldn't likely succeed on the merits of its complaint. 

  • December 08, 2025

    'Red Flags' Give 2nd Circ. Pause In NBA Health Fraud Appeal

    A Second Circuit panel appeared skeptical Monday of arguments by two former NBA players convicted of defrauding a league healthcare plan that they were tricked into participating by the scheme's leader, saying the trial evidence included "red flags."

  • December 08, 2025

    Hilton Retirees Push DC Circ. To Reopen Pension Case

    A panel of D.C. Circuit judges appeared to agree Monday that a class of over 20,000 Hilton employees hadn't justified its request for detailed discovery on the hotel chain's compliance with a 14-year-old injunction requiring it to pay additional retirement benefits.

  • December 05, 2025

    10th Circ. Won't Stay Order In Union Early Retirement Case

    A union pension plan must comply with an order compelling it to restore benefits to certain early retirees while it appeals the ruling that required it to do so, the Tenth Circuit held, denying the plan's request for a stay of the order.

  • December 05, 2025

    BofA Says Northrop 401(k) Suit Toss Backs 4th Circ. Appeal

    Bank of America urged a North Carolina federal court Friday to let it appeal an earlier decision denying dismissal of a proposed class action alleging forfeitures were misspent from workers' employee 401(k) plan, arguing a Virginia federal court's decision tossing similar claims against Northrop Grumman supported its bid.

  • December 05, 2025

    ERISA Recap: 4 Rulings Worth Paying Attention To From Nov.

    The Ninth Circuit striking down a class action win for transgender employee health plan participants who said their gender-affirming care denials were discriminatory is just one noteworthy Employee Retirement Income Security Act ruling from November. Here's a recap of that ruling and three others.

  • December 05, 2025

    Mortgage Insurer's $650K ERISA Deal Clears First Hurdle

    A North Carolina federal judge gave the initial nod Friday to a $650,000 deal a mortgage insurance company reached with a worker to close a proposed class action claiming the business didn't do enough to prevent a retirement profit sharing plan from facing a $1.3 million loss.

  • December 05, 2025

    Divided DC Circ. Backs Trump's NLRB, MSPB Firings

    A split D.C. Circuit panel on Friday upheld President Donald Trump's firings of two labor agency officials in spite of their statutory job protections, saying they wield enough executive power that Congress can't restrict the president's authority to fire them.

  • December 04, 2025

    Snap Investors' $65M Deal OK'd, But Attys Face 'Cheap' Judge

    A California federal judge said Thursday he will grant preliminary approval of a $65 million deal to resolve a proposed securities class action against Snapchat, but warned the plaintiffs' side they will "have to see" about the request for 30% of the settlement in attorney fees because he is "notoriously cheap."

Expert Analysis

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • How Del. Supreme Court, Legislature Have Clarified 'Control'

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's January decision in In re: Oracle and the General Assembly's passage of amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law this week, when taken together, help make the controlling-stockholder analysis clearer and more predictable for companies with large stockholders, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Retirement Plan Suits Show Value Of Cybersecurity Policies

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    Several data breach class actions that were recently filed against retirement plan administrator The Pension Specialists in Illinois federal court are a reminder that developing and following a good written cybersecurity policy provides a blueprint for compliance and may prevent lawsuits, says Carol Buckmann at Cohen & Buckmann.

  • Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Recent Cases Highlight Latest AI-Related Civil Litigation Risks

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    Ongoing lawsuits in federal district courts reveal potential risks that companies using artificial intelligence may face from civil litigants, including health insurance coverage cases involving contractual and equitable claims, and myriad cases concerning securities disclosure claims, say attorneys at Katten.

  • Opinion

    We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

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    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Series

    Performing Stand-Up Comedy Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether I’m delivering a punchline on stage or a closing argument in court, balancing stand-up comedy performances and my legal career has demonstrated that the keys to success in both endeavors include reading the room, landing the right timing and making an impact, says attorney Rebecca Palmer.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From SEC To BigLaw

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    As I adjusted to the multifaceted workflow of a BigLaw firm after leaving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, working side by side with new colleagues on complex matters proved the fastest way to build a deep rapport and demonstrate my value, says Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block.

  • Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession

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    For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Fix The SEC's Pay-To-Play Rule

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    Nearly 15 years after its adoption, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's pay-to-play rule is not working as intended — a notion recently echoed by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce — and the commission should reconsider the strict liability standard, raise the campaign contribution limits and remove the look-back provision, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

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    This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

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    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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