Holland & Knight LLP

Chelsea Ashbrook McCarthy is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Chicago office. Ms. McCarthy routinely handles highly complex financial-based litigation matters under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and in the areas of real estate and class action defense.

As a partner in the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice and member of the ERISA Litigation team, Ms. McCarthy blends nearly two decades of experience in complex litigation matters with a keen interest in each client's business objectives to create a tailored approach to achieve them. Her experience advocating through all phases of litigation helps ensure that she advises on the best strategy – be it the means for obtaining a quick resolution or driving trial-focused litigation.

With a particular focus on ERISA litigation, Ms. McCarthy defends plan sponsors, company boards of directors, selling shareholders and fiduciaries in ERISA putative class actions involving employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and 401(k) plans alleging claims of breach of fiduciary duty and engaging in prohibited transactions. She also represents clients in regulatory investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for alleged violations of ERISA. Ms. McCarthy is a member of the ESOP Association's Legal and Regulatory Committee, the American Bar Association's (ABA) Labor and Employment Section Employee Benefits Committee and a frequent speaker and publisher on ERISA issues. She is a chapter editor of the Bloomberg ABA Treatise: Employee Benefits Law.

Ms. McCarthy's class action experience extends beyond the ERISA space. She has defended clients in putative class actions involving claims under the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (ICFA), Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other state comparable statutes, as well as federal Truth-in-Leasing Regulations governing motor carriers.

Ms. McCarthy also has significant experience handling claims for breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and other business torts across a variety of industries. She represents companies and individuals in the prosecution and defense of restrictive covenant and trade secret claims, frequently representing clients in expedited injunction proceedings. She routinely advises clients in financial services disputes, with a particular focus on distressed real estate and commercial foreclosures. Her real estate experience extends to commercial lease disputes. And, as the client development leader for Holland & Knight's Real Estate and Hospitality Industry Sector Group, Ms. McCarthy utilizes her years of experience with real estate disputes to collaborate with attorneys across practice areas to support clients in the real estate and hospitality industries.

Ms. McCarthy advocates for clients through all phases of litigation, from pre-suit counseling through appeals. She has successfully prevailed on and defended claims for preliminary injunctive relief and has tried cases to verdict in state and federal court. She is a member of the trial bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

In addition to her legal practice, Ms. McCarthy is an active community volunteer and serves as a member of the board of directors of the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. McCarthy clerked for the Honorable Richard L. Young in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

American Bar Association, Employee Benefits Committee ESOP Association, Legal and Regulatory Committee Member

Saint Louis University School of Law, J.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.S., Finance, with high honors