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Practice Area
As a firm of choice for many major businesses, we represent employers, fiduciaries, boards of directors, benefit plans, and plan administrators in all aspects of ERISA litigation, including claims relating to fiduciary liability, plan investments, excessive fees, plan qualification, plan termination, reversion of excess assets, retiree medical benefits, severance and employment contract matters, tax liability matters, and retirement and welfare benefit claims.
Practice Area
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
With attorneys based in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., Winston’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (EBEC) team represents a broad range of plan sponsors and offers clients not just deal support but the full suite of employee benefit services. These include public company reporting and executive compensation, employee benefits in mergers and acquisitions, qualified retirement plans and Title I investment advice, health and welfare benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and international human resources matters. And driven by a volatile labor market, we are partnering with clients to innovate plan structure and design, including cutting-edge services such as private exchange medical benefits, employee benefits in captive insurance, and fiduciary governance best practices. With decades of experience, our EBEC team maintains strong brand recognition, with clients describing our attorneys as “superb,” “very client-friendly,” “extremely responsive and able to bring forth the right resources,” and “having an “incredible breadth of knowledge.”
Practice Area
Our team’s deep market knowledge of laws affecting retirement plans enables us to develop customized retirement plan solutions, practical advice, and strategies for our clients’ unique needs and workforce composition. Our experienced benefits attorneys represent public companies, private companies, and private equity operating companies in retirement plan design and day-to-day plan compliance.
Experience 29 results
Experience
|January 4, 2025
Experience
|November 12, 2024
Insights & News 704 results
Benefits Blast
|August 12, 2025
|5 Min Read
On August 7, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the DOL, the SEC, and Treasury (including the IRS) to review and revise guidance to facilitate the inclusion of alternative investments—such as private equity, cryptocurrency, and other non-traditional assets—in defined contribution retirement plans. The Executive Order follows action in May of this year by the DOL to rescind its 2022 guidance that discouraged fiduciaries from including cryptocurrency options in 401(k) retirement plans.
In the Media
|August 7, 2025
|1 Min Read
Yulia Makarova and Kimberly Prior Discuss Guiding Clients Through the GENIUS Act with IFLR
Winston & Strawn Winston & Strawn Digital Assets Group co-chair Kimberly Prior and partner Yulia Makarova were featured in an IFLR article sharing their insights on client reaction, increased demand for their legal knowledge, and compliance challenges for non-US issuers following the passing of the GENIUS Act. The act, passed by the House of Representatives on July 17 and signed by the President on July 18, brings clarity to the digital assets markets after years of regulatory uncertainty legitimizing the use of payment stablecoins in the US financial system and providing detailed requirements for compliance and governance.
In the Media
|August 6, 2025
|1 Min Read
Jeffrey Kessler Profiled in Bloomberg Law for Pioneering Work in Sports Antitrust Litigation
Winston & Strawn Co-Executive Chairman Jeffrey Kessler was featured in a Bloomberg Law article spotlighting his decades-long leadership in sports antitrust litigation. Described by Bloomberg Law as the “GOAT” at the intersection of sports and law, Jeffrey has led landmark cases that transformed the sports industry.
Other Results 12 results
Law Glossary
What Is a Qualified Retirement Plan?
A qualified retirement plan is a retirement plan established by an employer that is designed to provide retirement income to designated employees and their beneficiaries, which meets certain IRS Code requirements in terms of both form and operation. Common plan types are 401(k) plans, pension plans, and profit-sharing plans. A qualified retirement plan may allow for both employer and employee contributions. Employers must follow procedures to ensure participants and beneficiaries are able to receive their benefits. They must also stay apprised of changes in retirement plan laws and regulations. Qualified retirement plans provide certain tax advantages to employers and tax deferral advantages to employees who are contributing. Taxes on earnings from the contributions are also deferred until the employee withdraws them from the plan.
Site Content
Form 10-K is an annual report required to be filed with the SEC pursuant to the 1934 Act, which provides a comprehensive overview of a company’s business and financial condition and includes annual audited financial statements.
Site Content
Form 8-K is a form required to be filed by registrants with the SEC when certain significant or “material” events occur, such as mergers and acquisitions, changes in management, and director resignations. The form generally must be filed with four business days of the event triggering disclosure.