Employee Benefits & ERISA

Kaufman Dolowich has a sophisticated ERISA litigation practice. When litigation is required on behalf of our clients, we provide substantial experience and expertise gained through more than 20 years of active ERISA litigation, including trial and appellate experience.

We also actively aid our clients in avoiding litigation by assisting with the administrative processing of benefit claims and using alternative dispute resolution (mediation) and other techniques to resolve matters on a pre-litigation basis.

In ERISA litigation matters, Kaufman Dolowich’s lawyers handle and represent:

• Employers and other plan sponsors
• Single employer and multi-employer retirement and health and welfare plans
• Plan fiduciaries (investment and administrative committees and trustees)
• Institutional fiduciaries (banks and trust and mutual fund companies)
• Investment managers and investment consultants to plans
• Third party administrators and other service providers to plans
• Fiduciary liability insurers

We provide our clients with extensive knowledge of the specialized issues raised by ERISA litigation and support our clients on a full range of ERISA litigation matters, including:

• Benefits claims by participants
• Claims for breach of fiduciary duty (such as investment losses, employer stock matters, plan governance and other administration issues, prohibited transactions and ESOP and PSP valuation issues)
• Representation of plan fiduciaries in handling investigations and litigation brought by the DOL.
• Representation of multi-employer welfare administrators in benefit payment and other issues
• Representation of plan board of directors in DOL investigations and claims brought by plan members alleging mishandling, imprudent investments, and improper benefit decisions, among others.

Experienced Attorneys Serving Life, Health and Disability Insurers

The attorneys at Kaufman Dolowich have vast experience handling complex coverage matters and large scale litigation arising under group and individual life, health and disability insurance policies.  Our lawyers represent insurers, employers, managers, directors and officers, fiduciaries, plan administrators and other entities in litigation and coverage matters involving stand-alone fiduciary liability policies and other non-traditional fiduciary policies triggered by endorsements of other mechanisms. 

Kaufman Dolowich’s legal team is intimately familiar with the numerous state and federal laws and regulations governing employer-sponsored life, health and disability benefits, including ERISA. The ERISA statute is complex and sets forth detailed guidelines and procedures that insurers, plan administrators, sponsors and fiduciaries  must follow when administering and handling ERISA claims. Kaufman Dolowich’s attorneys provide advice, counsel and risk management training on best claims and administration handling to avoid future claims.

When ERISA-related claims, coverage and litigation issues arise involving life, health and disability insurance claims, clients trust our firm to provide sound advice specifically tailored to their business needs.  Our lawyers have a deep understanding of the insurance industry and work with clients to craft legal solutions that effectively resolve their problems in the most economical and efficient manner possible.

Litigating Complex Benefit Claims and Coverage Matters

The attorneys in Kaufman Dolowich’s Insurance Coverage & Litigation Practice are well positioned to advise and defend clients in life, health and disability insurance coverage and benefit claim matters.  These types of cases involve complex claims brought by individual claimants, groups of individuals and often arise as part of large scale class action litigation.  Our lawyers are experienced in handling a full range of issues involving life, health and disability policies.  We have a vast understanding of the federal and state regulations and our lawyers litigate ERISA claims and related state law cases in jurisdictions across the United States.  Whether we are working to negotiate a settlement, utilizing alternative dispute resolution, or litigating a case in court, our lawyers focus on helping our clients obtain optimal and efficient results.  

Helping Insurers Navigate a Myriad of Complex Laws and Regulations

At Kaufman Dolowich we understand the difficult challenges that life, health and disability insurers face as they navigate a complex maze of ever-changing laws and regulations.  Our lawyers closely monitor case law developments and state and federal laws and regulations in this constantly evolving arena.  We share this information with our clients and develop strategic approaches that effectively mitigate risk and address our clients’ most difficult legal challenges.