René Thorne > Jackson Lewis P.C. > New Orleans, United States > Lawyer Profile
Jackson Lewis P.C. Offices
601 Poydras Street
Suite 1400
New Orleans, LA 70130
LOUISIANA
United States
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René Thorne
Position
Co-leader of the ERISA Litigation practice group
Career
René E. Thorne is co-leader of the firm’s ERISA Complex Litigation group, and is a principal in the New Orleans, Louisiana, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. René started the New Orleans office and was the managing principal for ten years.
Her national practice covers the full range of complex benefit litigation matters, including representation of employers, plans, plan fiduciaries, third party administrators, and trustees. In that regard, she has handled numerous ERISA class actions alleging breach of fiduciary duty; breach of the duty of loyalty; prohibited transactions; 401(k) 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; retiree rights litigation; severance plan claims; Section 510 cases; and complex benefit claim cases.
During the course of her national practice, she has been admitted pro hac vice in courts across the country, including Alabama, the District of Columbia, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
René also has been retained in complex ERISA breach of fiduciary duty, prohibited transaction, and cash balance cases. René has been qualified and testified on ERISA matters in federal court.
René is active on the Employee Benefits Subcommittee of the Labor and Employment Section of the American Bar Association, and was a management co-chair of the Employee Benefits Subcommittee Newsletter. She is a past instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and a former barrister in the Thomas More Inn of Court.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Labor and employment > ERISA litigation
With an impressive national footprint, Jackson Lewis P.C.has a successful record defending high-value ERISA class action lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions. Aside from defending substantive class action litigation, the team are well-placed to advise on retiree rights, severance plans, benefit plans, and ESOPs. The firm’s extensive client portfolio of employers, plan sponsors, plan administrators, fiduciaries has recently expanded their client base to include food services and energy-related companies. Standout work includes a claims dismissal for MGM which amounted to over 1.6bn assets under management, high exposure ESOP cases, and a precedent-setting case for Nova Southeastern University. The ERISA Litigation Group is co-led by industry veteran Howard Shapiro
and René Thorne, who is highly active in the healthcare space. Stacey C.S. Cerrone is a core member of the team focusing on the defense of complex ERISA class actions along with seasoned litigator, Lindsey H. Chopin. New Jersey-based Michael E. Holzapfel has considerable expertise in benefits administration, single-plaintiff lawsuits, federal and state insurance, whereas Robert W. Rachal focuses on ERISA fiduciary, benefits, and executive compensation litigation. Managing principal Charles F. Seemann boasts longstanding experience defending ERISA plans and plan fiduciaries, while Phillip C. Thompson in Kansas specializes on defending employers from ERISA class actions. All members of the team are based in the New Orleans office unless otherwise stated.