The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Honors its New Fellows

Outstanding employee benefits attorneys selected from throughout the country joined the College at its Nineteenth Annual Induction Dinner on September 15, 2018 at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.

Induction as a Fellow of this organization is viewed as a national distinction. Each nominee is required to have focused on employee benefits law for at least 20 years and have demonstrated a sustained commitment to public awareness and understanding of benefits laws through such activities as writing, speaking, public policy analysis, public education or public service. Nominees also are required to have provided exceptionally high-quality professional services to clients, the bar, and the public. As a result, selection as a Fellow is a high honor reflecting substantive contributions to the field of employee benefits over the Fellow’s entire career.

The ACEBC was formed in recognition of significant legal and social policy issues impacting the regulation and management of pension, retirement, group health, welfare and disability plans. The College’s mission statement is: “Fostering excellence in the practice of employee benefits law and advancing public understanding of employee benefits.” The College encourages the study and development of employee benefits laws and engages in projects such as initiating professional discussions and high-level symposiums of significant issues, offering a searchable data base of Fellows who are willing to serve as expert witnesses, mediators or arbitrators, co-sponsoring continuing legal education programs, and recognizing the achievements of distinguished employee benefits attorneys. The College also sponsors a law student outreach mentoring program, a national law student writing competition to encourage legal scholarship in this evolving area of law and a simplification award to inspire ideas to simplify the regulation of employee benefit plans.

2018 Inducted Fellows
Sherrie Boutwell, Newport Beach, CA
George F. Cicotte, Kennewick, WA
David M. Fusco, Cleveland, OH
Scott E. Galbreath, Sacramento, CA
B.David Joffe, Nashville, TN
Elizabeth Ysla Leight, Chevy Chase, MD
Robert J. Neis, Washington, DC
Sara Pikofsky, Washington, DC
Professor Paul M. Secunda, Milwaukee, WI
Tami Simon, Washington, DC
Todd A. Solomon, Chicago, IL
Benjamin F. Spater, San Francisco, CA
Karen K. Suhre, Dallas, TX
Aliya Wong, Washington, DC

2018 Writing Prizes
Alvin D. Lurie Memorial Award: Rebeca Barker
The University of Chicago Law School

Sidney M. Perlstadt Memorial Award: Gregory Moran

2018 Simplification Award
John A. Turner, Pension Policy Center, Washington, DC
Jennifer Brown, UnidosUS, Washington, DC