Howard Shapiro > Jackson Lewis P.C. > New Orleans, United States > Lawyer Profile

Jackson Lewis P.C.
601 Poydras Street
Suite 1400
New Orleans, LA 70130
LOUISIANA
United States

Work Department

ERISA Litigation

Position

Principal and Co-Leader of the ERISA Litigation practice group

Career

Howard Shapiro is a principal in the New Orleans, Louisiana, office of Jackson Lewis P.C., and is co-leader of the firm’s ERISA Complex Litigation group. Howard focuses his practice on the defense of large, sophisticated ERISA class actions.

Howard defends “bet-the-company” litigation where damages are potentially material. His cases involve the defense of Defined Benefit plans, 401(k) Plans, and 403(b) Plans. He also defends litigation involving health and welfare plan issues. His practice is nationwide, and throughout his career, Howard has appeared as counsel across the entire country. Typically, his cases involve damage allegations in excess of hundreds of millions of dollars. Howard has defended cases involving: breach of fiduciary duty; breach of the duty of loyalty; Prohibited Transactions; 401(k) Plan asset performance, fees, and expense issues; 403(b) Plan asset performance, fees, and expense issues; defined benefit plan asset issues, accrual issues, and cut-back issues; Cash Balance Plan issues; ESOP litigation; fiduciary misrepresentation claims; sophisticated preemption issues; Executive Compensation litigation, both pension and welfare claims; Directed Trustee claims; retiree rights litigation; severance plan class actions; Section 510 cases; and complex benefit claim cases. He has appeared in federal courts from coast to coast while maintaining an active national ERISA litigation practice.

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Labor and employment > ERISA litigation

(Hall of Fame)

Howard Shapiro – Jackson Lewis P.C.

Jackson Lewis P.C. continues to make progress defending an increasing number of ERISA claims being brought, particularly those relating to 401(k) plan fees and recordkeeping costs as well as ESOP cases. The practice leverages its close connections to the firm’s employee benefits group and the class actions and complex litigation practice to support the full range of clients’ needs in ERISA matters. Stacey C.S. Cerrone is a key name to note at the firm, concentrating on defending ERISA class actions brought against public and private single employer plan sponsors and fiduciaries. Charles Seemann shares this focus in addition to advising on multi-employer plans and financial institutions providing services to ERISA plans. Howard Shapiro and René Thorne co-lead the practice, with Thorne being active in health plan organization and litigation following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs. All named lawyers are based in New Orleans.