Brian Boyle

Partner

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Brian Boyle has spent much of his career counseling many of the nation’s largest retirement and health plan service providers with respect to their investment offerings and service arrangements, and defending them against fiduciary breach claims and other alleged violations of ERISA. In addition, he has represented numerous employers in ERISA litigation challenging the administration of their retirement plans, including participant-directed defined contribution plans. Brian’s clients draw on his detailed knowledge of the business models of financial service providers and his decades of experience handling high-stakes disputes. Brian holds a Chambers Nationwide Band One ranking for handling ERISA litigation.

Brian is a member of  the firm’s Financial Services Practice and Health Care and Life Sciences Practice.

Corporate & Government Experience

Former Assistant to the General Counsel

  • Office of the Secretary of the Army (1986-1991) 

Former Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General

  • US Department of Justice (2003-2005); recipient of the Edmund J. Randolph Award for Outstanding Justice Department Service (April 2005) 

Honors & Awards

  • Ranked Band One Nationwide by Chambers USA for ERISA litigation (2022-2023 and prior years)
  • Recognized by Best Lawyers® (2020-2023) for Litigation - ERISA in Washington, DC; Brian has been listed in Best Lawyers® since 2020
  • Ranked in the "Hall of Fame for ERISA Litigation; Recommended for Healthcare and Financial Services Litigation by The Legal 500 US

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia, California

Court Admissions

  • US Supreme Court
  • US Courts of Appeals, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuits
  • US District Court, Central and Southern Districts of California, Colorado, District of Columbia, and Central District of Illinois

Education

  • Harvard University, J.D., 1986: magna cum laude; editor, Harvard Law Review
  • Georgetown University, A.B., 1982: summa cum laude

Professional Activities

Clerkships

  • Honorable Antonin Scalia, US Supreme Court
  • Honorable Laurence H. Silberman, US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit 

Member

  • American Bar Association
  • American Health Lawyers Association
  • American Law Institute 
  • Successfully defended an outsourced chief investment officer (“OCIO”) at trial on class claims that the OCIO breached fiduciary duties in selecting proprietary investment options for the client plan.
  • Successfully defended a large health insurer at trial on class claims that the insurer violated ERISA and health plan documents in implementing a policy denying “facility fee” reimbursement to office-based surgeries.
  • Represented multiple mutual fund complexes in litigation challenging the presence of proprietary investment options in a 401(k) plan
  • Obtained dismissal of a class action against retirement services providers in nationwide ERISA class action fiduciary litigation challenging the reasonableness of fee structures in thousands of separate 401(k) plan service arrangements
  • Represented a directed trustee and mutual fund investment adviser in multiple, separate ERISA actions seeking to impose fiduciary and non-fiduciary liability for allegedly excessive administrative and investment management fees, and allegedly substandard investment performance
  • Obtained a dismissal of a nationwide provider class action challenging the administration of "pre-approval" requirements in health insurance policies
  • Obtained a denial of class certification and summary judgment on a named plaintiffs' claims in a nationwide ERISA class action challenging the method for coordinating private health plan secondary payments with Medicare benefits
  • Obtained a denial of a class certification in a nationwide class action alleging nondisclosure of "death spiral" in closed book of individual health policies
  • Obtained dismissal of federal RICO claims against mortgage servicer arising out of default mortgage servicing practices

Investment and Retirement Plan Services

  • Represented a mutual fund complex in nationwide ERISA class action litigation challenging procedures for distributing "float" earnings on retirement plan contributions and redemptions
  • Represented a life insurer and its affiliates in nationwide ERISA class action litigation challenging fees collected on insurance separate account investment options
  • Represented multiple plan sponsors in ERISA fiduciary litigation raising claims of imprudence and prohibited transactions in connection with the selection of mutual fund investment options
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