ERISA 401(k) Fee Litigation and New Fee Disclosure Regulations

Strategies for Bringing and Defending Fee Claims and Complying with DOL's Disclosure Requirements

Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar/teleconference with Q&A


Conducted on Thursday, December 9, 2010
Recorded event now available


This CLE webinar will provide an update on the recent ERISA 401(k) fee and expense litigation focused on defense and plaintiff strategies used in recent trials and appeals. The panel will also analyze the DOL’s new fee disclosure regulation and steps that plan providers must take to comply with the new requirements.

Description

The recent spate of lawsuits relating to 401(k) plan fees shows no signs of abating. As fee litigation progresses, the defendants, theories and defenses evolve and many key issues remain unsettled. Plus, issues are not always resolved consistently among the circuit courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Jones v. Harris Assocs. decision in March 2010 set out standards to evaluate fees charged to mutual funds by investment advisers. Although it was decided under the Investment Company Act, the ruling provides some insights into defending ERISA excessive fee cases.

Moreover, the DOL's July 2010 interim final regulations under Section 408(b)(2) require certain service providers to disclose to plan fiduciaries information regarding their compensation. The new regulations differ in several significant respects from the proposed regulations issued in 2007.

Listen as our authoritative panel of ERISA plaintiff and defense attorneys analyze the evolving litigation trends in 401(k) fee and expense litigation and provide practitioners with litigation strategies—for both plaintiffs and defendants. The panel will also dicuss the DOL's new fee disclosure regulation and effective compliance measures.

Outline

  1. Overview of litigation trends and developments
    1. Resolved litigation
    2. Pending litigation
    3. Jones v. Harris
  2. Defense perspective
    1. Scope of liability
    2. Defenses
    3. Litigation strategies
  3. Plaintiff perspective
    1. Theories of liability
    2. Litigation strategies
  4. DOL’s new fee disclosure regulations

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key questions:

  • What are the most recent strategies employed by plaintiffs in ERISA 401(k) fee and expense litigation?
  • What lessons can plan fiduciaries learn from the recent ERISA fee litigation?
  • What is the anticipated impact of the Supreme Court's Jones v. Harris ruling on ERISA fee litigation?
  • How do the new DOL fee disclosure regulations differ from the proposed regulations issued in 2007?
  • Who is subject to the new disclosure regulations and what types of plans are covered?

Faculty

Brian T. Ortelere, Partner
Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Philadelphia

His practice covers the full range of employee benefit defense litigation matters, including a number of ERISA class actions. With his victory in the Wright v. Oregon Metallurgical case, he became the first lawyer to successfully defeat "stock drop" claims on a motion to dismiss. He also successfully tried the Unisys Savings Plan matter, the first application of ERISA section 404(c) at trial.

Derek W. Loeser, Attorney
Keller Rohrback, Seattle, Wash.

He practices in the firm's nationally recognized Complex Litigation Group where he focuses on ERISA, securities fraud, employment, and consumer protection class action litigation. Prior to private practice, he was a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice where he prosecuted individual and class action employment discrimination cases.

Ordering

Online CLE - Audio Recording

Includes streaming audio of full program plus handouts (available 24 hours after live program).

CLE: Pre-approved for participatory or non-traditional/alternate format credit in: CA, HI*, NY*, WV*. Pre-approved for self-study credit in: AK, AZ, GA, MO, MT, TX*, VT, WA.
Upon request, also available in: CO, CT*, FL, ID, KY, LA*, ME, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR*, SC, TN, UT, WI, WY. If you are applying for credit in one of these states, make sure to select those states when placing your order.
(*Indicates that Strafford must report attendance.)

Online CLE Audio $297.00
Available 24 hours after the live event

How does this work?


Recorded Event

Includes full event recording plus handouts (available after live seminar).

CLE: Pre-approved for self-study credit in: AK, AZ, CA, CT, GA, HI, MO, MT, NY, TX*, VT, WA, WV. Upon request, self-study credit is also available in: CO, FL, ID*, KY, ME, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR, UT, WI, WY. If you are applying for self-study credit in one of these states, contact Strafford CLE at 1-800-926-7926 ext. 35 or CLE@straffordpub.com. (*Indicates that Strafford needs to process the CLE — see below to purchase this option.)

Webinar Download (Slide Presentation with Audio) $297.00
Available three business days after the live event

How does this work?

DVD (Slide Presentation with Audio) $297.00 plus $9.45 S&H
Available ten business days after the live event

MP3 Download (Audio with Slide PDFs) $297.00
Available 24 hours after the live event

How does this work?

CD (Audio with Slide PDFs) $297.00 plus $9.45 S&H
Available ten business days after the live event

Webinar/Teleconference

Strafford webinars/teleconferences offer several options for participation: online viewing of speaker-controlled PowerPoint presentations with audio via computer speakers or via phone; or audio only via telephone (download speaker handouts prior to the program).  Please note that our webinars do not feature videos of the presenters.

Program Materials

Requires Adobe Reader 8 or later. Download Acrobat FREE.

Program Materials

Requires Adobe Reader 8 or later. Download Acrobat FREE.

or call 1-800-926-7926

CLE Credit

Strafford's live seminars qualify for CLE in every state that accredits webinars. They offer you a high quality, cost effective, and convenient CLE option, with no lost travel time or expenses.

More Details >

or call 1-800-926-7926

Customer Reviews

I appreciated that the seminar’s comprehensive coverage was targeted to those not already expert in this area of law.

Patricia Chapman

Gleaves Swearingen

The speakers possessed great technical knowledge and experience.

Ken Watt

Frederic Dorwart, Lawyers

Strafford's on-line session was easy to attend and the topic was timely.

Jessica Lermond

Chartis Claims

The webinar addressed exactly what I needed for this area of my practice. Very useful information and very impressive program.

Nona Massengill

Williams Mullen

The PowerPoint presentation made things easy to understand.

Ian Weinberger

The Lambos Firm

or call 1-800-926-7926

Employment & ERISA Advisory Board

Barbara E. Hoey

Partner

Littler Mendelson

Jeffrey Hollingsworth

Partner

Perkins Coie

Marcia Nelson Jackson

Partner

Wick Phillips

Paul J. Kennedy

Shareholder

Littler Mendelson

Nancy Morrison O'Connor

Partner

Bracewell & Giuliani

Laura Foote Reiff

Shareholder

Greenberg Traurig

Eugene Scalia

Partner

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher

Teresa R. Tracy

Partner

Gladstone Michel Weisberg Willner & Sloane

Todd D. Wozniak

Shareholder

Greenberg Traurig

or call 1-800-926-7926

Our Guarantee

Strafford webinars and teleconferences are backed by our 100% Unconditional Money-Back Guarantee: if you are not satisfied with any of our products, simply let us know and get a full refund. For more information regarding complaints and refunds, please contact us at 1-800-926-7926 ext 10.