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ATLANTA PENSION ATTORNEY
Every Atlanta Pension Attorney listed here has at least ten years experience in practicing pension law. |
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John D. Hartness, Jr., P.C. Admitted: 1982, Georgia. Graduated cum laude, University of North Carolina Law School. LLM in Taxation, Emory University, 1988. Practice Areas: Pension Law, Retirement Law, Pension and Profit Sharing Benefits Plans, ERISA Litigation, Executive Compensation; Deferred Compensation; Employee Stock Ownership Plans. |
Even on the strictly statutory side of the law, pension attorneys have their hands full. This page from the Employment Law Information Network web site gives you an idea of how complex employment-related issues can get.
Because of that, only a legal specialist should even attempt to handle a case involving your pension rights. Hiring a general practitioner to handle a matter of such serious consequences to your retirement would be like paying the guy who parks your Ferrari at the golf club valet to tune it up for you, too. After all, he works with cars, right?
Not a good idea.
Depending on the nature of the the legal problem you face concerning your pension, this kind of thing requires either an Estate Planning attorney or a Labor and Employment or a Tax Law specialist. The attorneys and law firms listed on this page all devote a substantial part of their practice (more than 50 percent) to their specialty in either field.
If you think you’ve been wronged by your corporate employer regarding your pension and you want to find out if your have a case against your him, you may need the services of an experienced trial attorney who has tried a significant number of employment cases, possibly including class actions.
Do You Have A Case?
To find out if you have a potential case against your employer, ask yourself the following questions:
Did your employer:
- interfere with your ability to attain plan benefits?
- reduce or deny your benefits
- terminate your plan, either completely or in part?
- cause mass layoffs or plant closings?
- discriminate against you based on age?
- convert from a defined benefit plan to a “cash balance” arrangement?
- force you into early retirement?
- breach its fiduciary duty as a plan sponsor/administrator?
- failing to diversify your plan investments
- fail to administer your plan according to mandatory ERISA provisions?
“ERISA” (the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act) is a federal law passed in 1974 that overrides almost all state legislation attempting to deal with the matter of employer-sponsored pension plans. Courts have even held that ERISA overrides a potential plaintiff’s right to sue his or her employer, plan sponsor, or administrator in state court under state common law principles. All lawsuits affecting an ERISA plan must be filed in federal court. Together with federal court decisions interpreting and applying it, this statute constitutes an extremely complex body of law. Even many health plans are affected by it.
If you answered “yes” to one or more of the questions above, you may have a winnable case, but only an experienced attorney can give you a valid opinion regarding this - after carefully analyzing each aspect of your individual claim.
What Kind of Pension Attorney Do You Need?
If you need advice on how to best structure your rights to retirement benefits, most likely a good estate planning lawyer is called for.
If your company decided to skimp out on its pension plan obligations, there are probably more people affected than just you alone. In a situation like that it would be a good idea to contact an attorney who is experienced in class action litigation, especially in the area of labor and employment law.
If for some reason you were unable to locate a suitable attorney from this page, the following link will take you to a more general directory to help you find your
Atlanta Pension Attorney
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