ERISA After Cunningham: Applying the New Pleading Bar and Assessing the DOL 401(k) Rule

R. Joseph Barton's legal practice is focused on complex employee benefits litigation, including ERISA claims involving fiduciary duties, retirement plans, health plans, and other employee benefit arrangements. He has extensive litigation experience in federal courts and has served as trial counsel in multiple ERISA matters, including class actions and complex fiduciary breach cases.

Mr. Barton has received numerous professional recognitions, including as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (which requires a minimum of 20 years' experience, nomination by two members, and approval by the Board that a nominee has made significant contributions to the advancement of the employee benefits field and is generally recognized by peers for expertise in the field and intellectual excellence), a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating, recognition as a Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer since 2013, a 10.0 rating from Avvo, and inclusion in Marquis' Who's Who in American Law. He has served in leadership positions at the American Bar Association's Employee Benefits Committee and the American Association for Justice (AAJ).

Mr. Barton is actively involved in legal organizations dedicated to employee benefits, employment rights, and litigation. Since January 1, 2025, he has been the Plaintiffs' Chair of the Board of Editors for the ABA treatise Employee Benefits Law (3d ed.), published by BNA — the most senior Plaintiff-side Editor position. Between 2012 and 2024, he served as Plaintiffs' Co-Chair of the Civil Procedure Subcommittee for the ABA Employee Benefits Committee as an author and editor for Chapter 12, Civil Practice & Procedure, of the treatise Employee Benefits Law. Between 2015 and 2024, he was a member of the Programming Committee for the ABA Employee Benefits Committee, responsible for planning the Committee's Midwinter conference. For many years, he has served on the Publications Committee for the American Association for Justice, overseeing article selection and review for the organization's magazine, Trial. He has also served as Co-Chair of the AAJ Class Action Litigation Group and Chair of the AAJ Employment Rights Section. Mr. Barton is a frequent speaker at conferences sponsored by organizations including the American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, American Conference Institute, Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association, and National Employment Lawyers Association.

Since 2001, Mr. Barton has litigated complex ERISA and employee benefits matters involving fiduciary breach claims, retirement plans, and other benefit arrangements. He has served as trial counsel in five ERISA cases, including two class actions and two complex fiduciary breach cases, as well as other employment cases. As lead trial counsel in Chesemore v. Alliance Holdings, Inc., he represented a class of Trachte employees in litigation involving ESOP transactions and obtained favorable trial decisions awarding more than $17 million plus prejudgment interest, affirmed by the Seventh Circuit. In Severstal Wheeling Inc. Ret. Comm. v. WPN Corporation, he served as lead trial counsel for pension plan fiduciaries and obtained a judgment exceeding $15 million, affirmed by the Second Circuit. He has also provided expert opinions on the scope of ERISA in international litigation, including a case before the Court of Commerce of Brussels, and continues to advise and advocate in complex employee benefits disputes.