Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced today that S. Bradley Perkins has joined the firm’s Labor & Employment department and ERISA and Employee Benefits Litigation group as a partner in San Francisco. Perkins arrives from the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) where he served as Senior Counsel.

Perkins focuses his practice in the areas of employee benefits fiduciary advice, litigation under the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and litigation involving fraudulent and abusive health care providers. He has represented clients in a wide range of ERISA matters in court and in arbitration, including complex class actions and single-plaintiff lawsuits. He has handled matters involving individual pension and welfare benefit claims, severance pay claims, executive compensation disputes, benefit discrimination, and claims regarding plan design and fiduciary responsibility. In the class action realm, he has defended various types of claims, including claims for benefits and claims for breach of fiduciary duty, including 401(k) fee and proprietary fund litigations. In addition, Perkins has experience representing health care plans and payors in health care reimbursement and provider billing litigation involving claims under ERISA, RICO, and state law, including the California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act.

“Our team has worked closely with Brad for many years during his time at the PMA and are thrilled to officially welcome him to the firm,” said Laura Maechtlen, chair of Seyfarth’s Labor & Employment department. “He has a tremendous reputation of handling high-stakes employee benefits litigation and brings with him a keen understanding of the growing healthcare fraud issues facing employers today.”

A regular writer and speaker, Perkins is a member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans and the American Benefits Council. He currently serves as a contributing editor to Employee Benefits Law and its annual supplements, and he serves as a management co-chair of the Subcommittee on Liability Issues Unique to Welfare Plans of the Employee Benefits Committee of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law. Perkins received his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School where he was senior articles editor of The George Washington Law Review. He earned a B.A., cum laude, from Duke University.

“Brad is a superb lawyer with great relationships here in the Bay Area,” said Christian Rowley, managing partner of Seyfarth’s San Francisco office. “As the changing workforce continues to present challenges for employers nationwide, Brad is exceptionally well-positioned to represent plan sponsors and fiduciaries in every aspect of litigation.”

Seyfarth’s ERISA & Employee Benefits Litigation Practice Group represents many of the largest employers in the United States in complex, high-exposure matters. The team handles a broad range of ERISA class actions, including “stock drop,” “401(k) fees,” cash balance and other pension plan design cases, and retiree medical and other welfare benefits litigation. The group also has developed an expertise in challenging and defending withdrawal liability assessments under Title IV of ERISA.