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Nancy G. Ross is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Firm's Chicago office. As a member of the Firm's Trial Department, she practices primarily in the area of employee benefits class action litigation and counseling under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
In the 2006 and 2007 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Nancy was recognized as a leader in both employee benefits litigation and ERISA litigation. She has been named among the top lawyers in the field of employee benefits/ERISA in Illinois Super Lawyers for 2005 through 2008. She has also been named one of the top 50 women lawyers in Illinois in Illinois Super Lawyers for 2008. The Legal 500 recognizes Nancy as the Firm's leader in ERISA litigation and an authority on employee and benefits disputes. LeadingLawyers.com named Nancy a Leading Lawyer in Employee Benefits Law in 2008. She is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Nancy was formerly co-chair of the Fiduciary Responsibility Committee of the ABA Employee Benefits Committee in the ABA's Labor and Employment Section. As a faculty member for the ABA National Institute, she frequently speaks at seminars nationwide on employment and employee benefits issues.
Nancy has extensive experience in counseling and representing employers, boards of directors, plan fiduciaries and trustees in matters concerning pension and welfare benefit plans. Her experience includes representation of pension plans, ESOPs, trustees and employers concerning their administration of plan assets and fiduciary responsibilities.
Nancy frequently represents directors and officers who are named as defendants in ERISA litigation over 401(k) plans and other employee benefit plans. She also has extensive experience in counseling employers seeking to reduce their retiree health benefits exposure and has successfully represented companies such as Joy Global Inc. (Harnischfeger Industries), John Morrell & Company, Farley Inc., and The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States in litigation challenging the reduction of retiree medical benefits.
Some of Nancy's victories include winning an ERISA class action against Northrop Grumman challenging pension calculations for all plan participants; winning a class action against The Northern Trust Company in connection with its role as trustee of an ESOP; winning a class action against AXA Financial challenging its cash balance retirement plan as age discriminatory and succeeding in dismissing claims against the directors and officers of Northrop Grumman claiming that the company pension plans incurred unnecessary and excessive investment and administrative fees. Among her regular clients are Northrop Grumman, Eastman Kodak, Chrysler, AXA Financial, The Northern Trust, State Street and Bell+ Howell. Nancy has also been approved by various insurance companies to represent directors and officers in fiduciary litigation.
Nancy has published a number of articles on the subject of employee benefits litigation, including articles surveying the status of retiree medical litigation nationwide published in Employee Relations Law Journal, articles published in the Benefits Law Journal addressing 401(k) litigation in the wake of Enron, employers' fiduciary obligations, articles analyzing significant United States Supreme Court decisions in Knudson v. Great West Life Annuity Insurance Company and Howe, et al. v. Varity Corporation, and numerous other articles advising employers and plans on defending ERISA cases. She is often quoted in legal publications and news articles discussing significant developments in the courts concerning employee benefits. She is also a contributing editor to the Employee Benefits Law Treatise, published by the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section and is a member of the Editorial Board for The Benefits Law Journal.
While attending law school, Nancy was an associate member of the Loyola Law Journal and an editor of the Women's Law Reporter. Prior to law school, Nancy spent four years as a legal assistant in the area of employment and labor relations law.
Nancy is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan and the State of Illinois.
Education
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D., 1985
University of Colorado, B.A., 1978 | 