Benefits

June 13, 2025
Midyear Report: 5 ERISA Decisions Attys Should Know

The U.S. Supreme Court revived retirement plan mismanagement allegations against Cornell University, the Sixth Circuit restarted a yacht company's suit against its health benefits administrator and American Airlines took a hit for emphasizing socially conscious investing in its 401(k) plan decisions. Here are five important decisions that came down in Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases during the first half of this year.
June 13, 2025
CVS Wants To Halt Ark. Law Banning PBM-Owned Pharmacies

CVS urged an Arkansas federal judge to block a new state law from taking effect that would ban pharmacy benefits managers from owning pharmacies in the state, arguing the law shirks the U.S. Constitution by tamping down competition and discriminating against out-of-state businesses.
June 13, 2025
$69M UnitedHealth 401(k) Deal Gets Green Light

A Minnesota federal judge granted final approval to a $69 million settlement agreement ending a class action claiming UnitedHealth Group kept underperforming funds in its 401(k) plan to preserve a business relationship with Wells Fargo.
June 13, 2025
Firms Get $275K Refund After $5M Overbilling Probe

Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP, Thornton Law Firm LLP and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP will get a total of about $275,000 back after collectively spending more than $5 million on a lengthy investigation into overbilling and other fee improprieties, a Massachusetts federal judge said Friday.
June 12, 2025
7th Circ. Backs Hartford's Denial Of Benefits To Ex-PwC Exec

The Seventh Circuit on Thursday refused to revive a lawsuit by a former PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP executive accusing the accounting firm's disability insurance provider of wrongly denying her long-term disability benefits for her fibromyalgia, affirming a lower court's "detailed and diligent opinion" that found her condition limiting, but not disabling.
June 12, 2025
'Forum Shopping' Center Stage At 6th Circ. Drug Pricing Args

As part of an expansive effort to tee up U.S. Supreme Court review, pharmaceutical industry-backed opponents of Medicare's drug price negotiations entered less-than-hospitable territory at the Sixth Circuit, where judges pointedly questioned a local business group's basis for challenging a national healthcare program.
June 12, 2025
Humana, Aetna Underpaid For 340B Drugs, New Suits Say

Humana and Aetna are facing new claims in a trio of suits filed in North Carolina federal court alleging they underpaid health systems for drugs purchased through the federal 340B drug discount program.
June 12, 2025
Inovalon Investors' Revived Chancery Suit Moves Forward

A Delaware chancellor sent into discovery investors' claim that Inovalon didn't properly disclose that a consortium of private equity firms that bought the healthcare data company paid $400 million in fees to its financial adviser before the transaction, dismissing some claims but finding it is "reasonably conceivable" that the suit's defendants acted in bad faith.
June 12, 2025
Justices Grant Compensation Leeway To Late-Filing Vets

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Barring Act's six-year statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation, a win for a proposed class of roughly 9,000 veterans who say they deserve additional pay despite filing late.
June 11, 2025
Lighting Co. Strikes Deal To End ESOP Management Suit

A California-based lighting company and the managers of its employee stock ownership plan agreed to resolve a proposed class action claiming they mismanaged the $25 million sale of company stock that established the plan, according to a filing in federal court.
June 11, 2025
Children's Healthcare Nonprofit Settles Retirement Fee Suit

A Florida-based nonprofit children's healthcare network and ex-workers who alleged their employee retirement savings were dragged down by excessive fees told a Florida federal court Wednesday they'd worked out a class action settlement of the dispute after mediation.
June 11, 2025
Aetna Resolves Lipedema Patients' Coverage Class Action

Aetna has agreed to end a class action alleging it unlawfully refused to cover liposuction as a treatment for over two dozen patients afflicted with a rare chronic condition called lipedema, according to a Wednesday filing in California federal court.
June 11, 2025
Cigna Accused Of Misusing $17M In 401(k) Forfeitures

Retirement plan participants and beneficiaries at Cigna say the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using up to $17 million given up by participants who quit early to reduce the company's matching contributions, rather than using it to pay for the plan's administrative costs.
June 11, 2025
Firm Tells NC Panel To Rethink Ex-Partner's Retroactive Care

Cranfill Sumner LLP has asked a North Carolina appellate panel to rethink a single issue from the court's sweeping workers' compensation ruling last month favoring a former partner, saying there is not enough evidence to support granting him retroactive attendant care for his disability.
June 11, 2025
Vedder Price Boosts IP, Exec Compensation Teams In NY

Vedder Price PC has bulked up its New York office with the addition of an intellectual property attorney from Vinson & Elkins LLP and an executive compensation and employee benefits pro from Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.
June 11, 2025
Health Network Strikes Deal In Retirement Plan Forfeiture Suit

A Pennsylvania health system has settled a suit claiming it failed to tamp down on unnecessary expenses in its $1.1 billion retirement plan and used forfeited funds to cover its own contributions to the plan instead of using the abandoned cash to reduce fees.
June 11, 2025
2nd Circ. Says Retirement Funds Can't Pay Arbitration Award

The Second Circuit refused to let a Japanese video game company raid retirement accounts established by an American game development executive to pay part of a $23.3 million arbitration award related to an intellectual property dispute, ruling the funds are protected by federal benefits law.
June 10, 2025
Atty Accuses City Of 'Game-y' Tactics In Race Bias Settlement

A North Carolina employment attorney accused the city of Charlotte in federal court Tuesday of being "game-y" by trying to change a Black fire chief's racial bias settlement after both sides agreed to certain terms, saying she wouldn't make him sign something that didn't reflect those promises.
June 10, 2025
First Republic Brass Beat Investor Suit Over Bank Failure

A California federal judge dismissed for good a shareholder suit against the former directors and officers of now-failed First Republic Bank and its auditor over the lender's 2023 collapse, finding that the plaintiffs failed to first exhaust their required administrative remedies and, therefore, the court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
June 10, 2025
Ill. Judge Questions Standing In Biogen Antitrust Suit

An Illinois federal judge seemed skeptical Tuesday that health benefit plans accusing Biogen of impairing competition for its multiple sclerosis drug, Tecfidera, have standing to bring their lawsuit under decades-old precedent allowing only direct purchasers to recoup damages.
June 10, 2025
Match.com Settles Reverse Spinoff Suit For $30M In Del.

A mediator-recommended, $30 million settlement proposal has tentatively ended a five-year Delaware Court of Chancery stockholder challenge to the fairness of Match.com's 2019 reverse spinoff from the Barry Diller-controlled IAC/Interactive.
June 10, 2025
10th Circ. Backs DOL Win In Construction Co. Retirement Suit

The Tenth Circuit backed the U.S. Department of Labor's win in an enforcement case against a defunct construction firm and its owner alleging retirement plan mismanagement, ruling Tuesday that a Utah federal court properly ended the case after the defendants' repeated failures to respond to court orders.
June 10, 2025
Target, Campbell's End Chicken-Price Fix Suit With Mar-Jac

Target Corp. and The Campbell's Co. are the latest broiler chicken purchasers to permanently end their price-fixing claims Monday against poultry processor giant Mar-Jac Inc. in a decade-old sprawling antitrust litigation claiming broiler chicken producers acted in concert to limit chicken production to raise prices and exchange sales volume information with each other.
June 10, 2025
Ex-Fidelity Associate GC Returns To Mayer Brown In Chicago

Mayer Brown LLP has rehired the former co-chair of its practice focused on retirement benefit matters, who returns to the firm after helping to lead a team of attorneys at Fidelity Investments responsible for health and retirement plan litigation.
June 10, 2025
Longtime Reed Smith Employment Pro Joins Fisher Phillips

An attorney who has focused his career on advising clients on employment and labor matters recently moved his practice to Fisher Phillips' Pittsburgh office after 13 years with Reed Smith LLP.

Expert Analysis

At 'SEC Speaks,' Leaders Frame New Views

At the Practising Law Institute's recent SEC Speaks conference, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership highlighted the agency's significant priority changes, including in enforcement, crypto and artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
The Ins And Outs Of Consensual Judicial References

As parties consider the possibility of judicial reference to resolve complex disputes, it is critical to understand how the process works, why it's gaining traction, and why carefully crafted agreements make all the difference, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
Opinion

The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.
Buyer Beware Of Restrictive Covenants In Delaware

Based on recent Delaware Chancery Court opinions rejecting restricted covenants contained in agreements in the sale-of-business context, businesses need to craft narrowly tailored restrictions that have legitimate interests, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.
ESOP Ruling Clarifies Trustees' Role In 3rd-Party Sales

An Illinois federal court's dismissal of a class action related to an employee stock ownership plan in Rush v. GreatBanc demystifies the trustee's role in a sale transaction to a third party by providing commentary on the prudent process and considerations for trustees to weigh before approving a sale, says Katelyn Harrell at BCLP.
Series

Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.
Challenges For Fiduciaries Adding Crypto To 401(k) Plans

As cryptocurrencies gain popularity and their restrictions loosen, investors may become interested in adding crypto options to their retirement plans, but fiduciaries should consider how to balance the increased demand and their obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
Series

Power To The Paralegals: An Untapped Source For Biz Roles

Law firms looking to recruit legal business talent should consider turning to paralegals, who practice several key skills every day that prepare them to thrive in marketing and client development roles, says Vanessa Torres at Lowenstein Sandler.
Series

Playing Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Poker is a master class in psychology, risk management and strategic thinking, and I’m a better attorney because it has taught me to read my opponents, adapt when I’m dealt the unexpected and stay patient until I'm ready to reveal my hand, says Casey Kingsley at McCreadyLaw.
Cos. Should Review Pay Strategies In Light Of 2025 Tariffs

Companies should think about what they can or should do to ensure the ongoing effectiveness of their compensation plans in light of rising material costs, reduced profit margins, market volatility and other impacts of the Trump administration’s evolving tariff regime, say attorneys at Cooley.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Becoming A Firmwide MVP

Though lawyers don't have a neat metric like baseball players for measuring the value they contribute to their organizations, the sooner new attorneys learn skills frequently skipped in law school — like networking, marketing, client development and case evaluation — the more valuable, and less replaceable, they will be, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
$38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.
Series

Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.
Series

Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.