Benefits

  • August 04, 2025

    Cold Storage Co. Duped Investors Before 2024 IPO, Suit Says

    A pension fund has sued Lineage Inc., a cold-storage real estate investment trust, and several of its executives in Michigan federal court over the company's initial public offering, the largest of 2024, alleging the REIT and its top brass misled investors about softening demand and unsustainable pricing.

  • August 01, 2025

    Supreme Court Asked To Weigh In On Distillery-Union Row

    An Oregon distillery has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to revive its challenge of a National Labor Relations Board decision that dinged the liquor maker for unfair labor practices, saying clarity was needed for a legal standard that the distillery says has allowed NLRB decisions to escape judicial review.

  • August 01, 2025

    X Corp. Must Arbitrate Ex-Twitter Workers' Claims, Cover Fees

    A Seattle federal judge is forcing X Corp. to fully pay the fees for arbitrating the claims of about 150 former Twitter employees in Washington who say they were shorted on bonus and severance pay amid layoffs after Elon Musk took over the social media giant in 2022.

  • August 01, 2025

    Texas Judge Says States Can Pursue BlackRock Coal Suit

    A Texas federal judge Friday gave Texas and other states the go-ahead to pursue claims that BlackRock Inc. and other asset managers used market muscle to decrease coal production, saying the states plausibly showed that the asset managers breached antitrust laws.

  • August 01, 2025

    Mich. Cos. Can't Get Atty Fees In Withdrawal Liability Dispute

    A Michigan furniture manufacturer and its shipping partner cannot get interest and attorney fees in a dispute with a Teamsters-affiliated pension fund, an Illinois federal judge ruled, finding the fund's bid to increase the amount of money the companies owed was not made in bad faith.

  • August 01, 2025

    4 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch In August

    The Ninth and Eleventh circuits in August will hear from employers fighting trial court decisions refusing to kick proposed class actions alleging ERISA violations into individual arbitration. Here's a look at four coming oral argument sessions that should be on benefits lawyers' radar.

  • August 01, 2025

    Steel Workers Want OK Of $1.8M Deal In Inflated Stock Suit

    A former employee of Flat Rock Metal and Bar Processing has asked a Michigan federal judge to grant a green light to a $1.8 million settlement in a suit claiming the trustees of the company's employee stock ownership plan allowed the plan to buy $60 million in company stock at an inflated price.

  • July 31, 2025

    7th Circ. Says Chemical Co. OK To Stop Paying Union Fund

    A chemical distributor was allowed to stop paying into a Teamsters pension fund in 2021, and an Illinois federal judge was wrong to conclude otherwise, the Seventh Circuit said Thursday, reversing a ruling that ordered the company to pay the fund over $365,000.

  • July 31, 2025

    6th Circ. OKs Toss Of Trustee Removal Bid In Union Fund Row

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday upheld an Ohio federal court's decision finding that a trade union, three trustees of a union benefit fund, and a fund participant cannot remove two other trustees they accused of self-dealing, saying they failed to show they would face irreparable harm.

  • July 31, 2025

    Siemens Dodges Suit Challenging Use Of 401(k) Forfeitures

    A New Jersey federal judge tossed a proposed class action Thursday that accused Siemens Corp. of violating federal benefits law by using forfeited money in its retirement plan to cover its contributions instead of plan expenses, finding the company acted in line with the plan's terms.

  • July 31, 2025

    NJ Justices Clarify Pension Beneficiary Designation Process

    The Garden State's Police and Firemen's Retirement System improperly distributed more than $200,000 in unpaid pension benefits to the estranged spouse of a deceased Newark police officer, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday, ordering the money to be redirected to his estate.

  • July 31, 2025

    PE Firm Risking Contempt, Receiver In Del. Over Legal Bills

    Noting that unpaid legal bills might already support a contempt or limited receivership order against private equity 777 Partners, a Delaware magistrate in Chancery gave the company and its counsel a Monday deadline to report still-accumulating fee advancement debts.

  • July 31, 2025

    Firefighter Says Military Service Cost Her Pay, Opportunities

    The Jersey City, New Jersey, fire department shorted a firefighter on pay and pension benefits while she was out on military leave and deprived her of opportunities upon her return to work, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • July 31, 2025

    J&J Fired Sales Worker Who Reported Pay Issue, Suit Says

    Johnson & Johnson wrongly credited a former executive sales representative's sales to another worker, leading to lost earned commissions, and then fired him once he complained, the former employee said in a suit in Texas federal court.

  • July 30, 2025

    3rd Circ. Won't Upend Investors' Class Cert. In J&J Talc Suit

    A split Third Circuit on Wednesday upheld a New Jersey federal judge's class certification order in a Johnson & Johnson investor action alleging the company artificially inflated its stock price by failing to disclose cancer risks associated with its talcum powder products, finding the lower court did not err in concluding that common issues predominate in the suit.

  • July 30, 2025

    CVS Can't Arbitrate RICO Suit Over Alleged 'No Generic' Policy

    CVS effectively forfeited its arbitration rights in proposed class action litigation accusing it of conspiring to block Medicare beneficiaries from accessing generic versions of prescription drugs, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled in denying the company's bid to enforce an arbitration agreement.

  • July 30, 2025

    Gas Co., Fired Exec Agree To End Stock Options Dispute

    A former executive agreed to resolve her lawsuit accusing a gas company of refusing to let her exercise millions of dollars' worth of stock options and then firing her for complaining, a filing in Virginia federal court said.

  • July 30, 2025

    VP Says Management Co. Still Owes $178K Of Bonus

    A workforce and performance management company still owes its executive vice president of engineering and solutions about $178,000 of a bonus, according to a lawsuit in Georgia federal court.

  • July 30, 2025

    Senate Panel Advances 2 Bipartisan Bills Boosting ESOPs

    A key Senate panel advanced two bills Wednesday that would change federal benefits law related to employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, by providing businesses additional legal cover when they make company stock valuations and by adding ESOP representatives to a federal advisory board.

  • July 30, 2025

    Union Pension Fund Asks 8th Circ. To Strike GE's $230M Win

    A Missouri federal judge used the wrong approach when weighing GE's eligibility for a pension law exemption intended for construction employers, a union pension fund told the Eighth Circuit, saying the approach let GE skirt $230 million in pension obligations by painting an exaggerated picture of its construction employment.

  • July 30, 2025

    Workday Wants Firm DQ'd Over Privileged Info In Atty's Suit

    Attorneys at Webb Law Group APC should be disqualified from representing an ex-Workday Inc. attorney in his bias suit against the company and should face sanctions for their "egregious behavior" in disclosing privileged information in a publicly filed document, Workday told a California federal magistrate judge.

  • July 30, 2025

    Database Administrator Was Employee, Court Told

    A former database administrator was misclassified as an independent contractor, he alleged in a proposed class and collective action in New York federal court against companies including Express Scripts and Cigna, saying he was effectively an employee.

  • July 30, 2025

    Honeywell, Fund's $1.2M Liability Dispute Sent To Arbitration

    A Washington federal judge has paused a union pension fund's suit seeking nearly $1.2 million after, the suit says, Honeywell International Inc. stopped contributions and withdrew from the fund, ordering the parties to arbitrate over when the company received notice for its withdrawal liability.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ex-LA Officer Can't Revive Suit Over COVID-19 Testing Costs

    A California appellate court Monday refused to revive a former Los Angeles police officer's suit claiming that he was denied due process when he was fired after refusing to comply with the city's COVID-19 policies, finding that the officer wasn't fired until after he made his case to the city.

  • July 29, 2025

    Axos Wants Justices To Undo Auditor's $1.5M Retaliation Win

    BofI Federal Bank, now operating as Axos Bank, has taken its dispute with a former auditor to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to vacate a Ninth Circuit decision upholding a $1.5 million jury verdict in favor of the auditor, who claimed he was fired for whistleblowing.

Expert Analysis

  • SEC Signals Opening For Private Fund Investment Reform

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    At SEC Speaks in late May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made clear that it's considering allowing registered funds of private funds to be offered broadly to true retail investors, meaning existing funds should review their disclosures focusing on conflicts of interest, liquidity and fees, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.

  • How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity

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    As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.

  • Series

    Running Marathons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After almost five years of running marathons, I’ve learned that both the race itself and the training process sharpen skills that directly translate to the practice of law, including discipline, dedication, endurance, problem-solving and mental toughness, says Lauren Meadows at Swift Currie.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Supporting A Trial Team

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    While students often practice as lead trial attorneys in law school, such an opportunity likely won’t arise until a few years into practice, so junior associates should focus on honing skills that are essential to supporting a trial team, including organization, adaptability and humility, says Lucy Zelina at Tucker Ellis.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Attorney To BigLaw

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    When I transitioned to private practice after government service — most recently as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — I learned there are more similarities between the two jobs than many realize, with both disciplines requiring resourcefulness, zealous advocacy and foresight, says Zach Terwilliger at V&E.

  • At 'SEC Speaks,' Leaders Frame New Views

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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