KatherineFunderburg

In an article for Employee Relations Law Journal, Partner Joseph Torres and Associate Katherine Funderburg examine the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Cunningham v. Cornell University, which addressed the applicable pleading standard for prohibited transaction claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and resolved an existing three-way circuit split. The authors review prohibited transactions, the path to the court, the ruling, implications for employers, plan

The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL) and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association will honor a Jenner & Block team with the 2025 Pro Bono and Public Interest Award for Excellence on May 1 during a ceremony. The award recognizes lawyers who have made significant contributions to NDIL and the community through pro bono representation and advocacy.

A Jenner & Block team advised Saothair Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in middle-market manufacturing and industrial companies, in their acquisition of a majority equity stake in Pioneer Window Holdings, Inc (“Pioneer”) through a newly-formed affiliate.

In an article for Employee Relations Law Journal, Partner Joseph Torres and Associate Katherine Funderburg examine how courts have seen a number of new ERISA class actions in which plaintiffs have challenged 401(k) plan sponsors’ use of forfeitures to offset employer matching contributions. The authors discuss two recent rulings in which two district courts in California reached conflicting results on motions to dismiss the claims of plaintiffs pursuing ERISA claims challenging the reallocation

On December 6, Jenner & Block client Canadian National Railway Company (CN) closed on its acquisition of Iowa Northern Railway Company, a critical transportation network operating approximately 275 miles of track serving a mix of agricultural and industrial shippers in Iowa. The transaction involved the deposit of the controlling equity of Iowa Northern into a voting trust at closing, pending approval by the US Surface Transportation Board to the transaction.

Jenner & Block has published the 2023 edition of Protecting Confidential Legal Information: A Handbook Analyzing Issues under the Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine, a comprehensive look at issues related to attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine. First published in 1984, the guide remains one of the firm’s most popular publications and an invaluable resource.

Employers have historically used non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions when resolving threatened or actual claims employees may pursue.  The logic of proposing such clauses flows from the reasonable desire to bring as much closure to disputes as is possible.  However, recent legal decisions have questioned whether and when such provisions may be permissible. 

Faith in Place honored a multi-disciplinary, cross-office team with its 2022 “Volunteer of the Year” award. Faith in Place empowers people of diverse faiths and spiritualities to advance environmental and racial justice. Jenner & Block has supported this client, pro bono, on solar Initiatives, human resource issues, copyright issues, government procurement issues, tax issues, and corporate transactions. The team includes Partners Michelle McAtee, Gail Morse, Julie Shepard, Steve Siros, and Emm

In their article, Jenner & Block Partners Matthew J. Renaud and Joseph J. Torres and Associates Jenna A. Bressel and Katherine M. Funderburg examine the Roberts Court’s ERISA jurisprudence. The Court “has re-awakened the idea that one of ERISA’s key tenets is that a plan’s written terms matter,” they observe. The authors then identify ways in which 401(k) plan sponsors can amend language to manage and/or mitigate exposure to claims for benefits and other ERISA claims.

The #MeToo movement caused a significant amount of legislative activity across the country, addressing, among other things, limits on the use of nondisclosure agreements in settlements of sexual harassment claims. Expanding on those protections, California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law the Silenced No More Act (S.B. 331), which imposes new, expanded restrictions on the use of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in settling bias and harassment claims by employees under various Californi

Client Zebra Technologies announced its plan to acquire antuit.ai, a provider of artificial intelligence-powered Software-as-a-Service solutions specific to forecasting and merchandising for the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries. Zebra is a world leader in innovative digital solutions including hardware and software that enable businesses of all sizes to intelligently connect data, assets, and people. The acquisition will expand Zebra’s growing retail and CPG software portfolio

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its first-ever guidance[1] on cybersecurity for ERISA-regulated retirement benefit plans. This guidance comes shortly after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report[2] calling on the DOL to clarify how plan administrators should address cybersecurity risks for defined benefit plans. The DOL’s guidance, which suggests combating cybercrime should be a priority for plan sponsors and fiduciaries, also provides tips to participants and be

In a report (the Report) released last month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examines cybersecurity risks associated with the administration of employer-sponsored defined contribution (DC) retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans. The Report calls on the Department of Labor (DOL) to address whether it is a fiduciary’s responsibility under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to mitigate cybersecurity risks to DC plans and to issue new guidance setting minimum s

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented publicly held companies and their officers and directors with a number of legal, business and operational issues.  As discussed in a prior client alert, shareholders have already begun responding to the economic impact of COVID-19 by filing securities class actions related to the pandemic, including lawsuits against Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals (Inovio) for allegedly misrepresenting the impact of the pandemic on their business operat