American Bar Association
District of Columbia Bar Association
US Legal 500
James R. Napoli is a Senior Counsel in the Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation & ERISA Litigation Center, resident in the Washington, D.C. office.
Jim counsels employers on all aspects of their employee benefit programs, including matters affecting tax-qualified retirement plans such as: 401(k) plans and defined benefit plans, including cash balance plans; executive compensation plans; and welfare benefit plans. Recognized by US Legal 500 as a leading lawyer in his field, Jim maintains an active controversy practice that includes advising clients on ERISA fiduciary matters and related litigation, as well as government compliance.
Jim partners with clients to assist them in the design, implementation and maintenance of their employee benefit programs. This includes assisting clients in managing third-party service provider relationships; counseling clients on the implementation of fiduciary hierarchies to achieve optimum administrative efficiencies and protections; and counseling clients on ongoing compliance issues. Jim routinely negotiates administrative services agreements, investment management agreements, and various other forms of agreements that establish relationships between employers, ERISA fiduciaries, employer sponsored plans and their service providers.
He is experienced in representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. This experience includes his work on the Chrysler retiree medical prohibited transaction exemption currently proposed by the Department of Labor.
In addition, he has experience litigating matters involving claims to benefits under pension plans, long-term disability plans, employer sponsored medical plans, and general insurance contracts. He has litigated matters involving claims for breach of fiduciary duty and fiduciary misrepresentation under pension plans, long-term disability plans, and employer sponsored medical plans. The defense of actions raising ESOP valuation issues, defined contribution account balance valuation issues, executive compensation issues, ERISA §510 claims, and preemption issues have all been an important part of Jim’s experience. Jim also has brought claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and reimbursement on behalf of his ERISA party clients.
Jim has lectured frequently to local and regional bar associations regarding various employee benefit matters and he has also addressed professional groups regarding employee benefit matters.