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Matthew A. Russell

Associate

Matthew A. Russell defends employers from various industries in a range of complex litigation matters. Matt’s practice focuses on representing plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and service providers facing a variety of employee benefits claims and ERISA litigation around the United States. Matt has handled an array of ERISA matters, including claims challenging retirement plan investments, fees, and expenses; company stock and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs); top-hat plans; profit-sharing plans; “cash balance” plans; and alleged cutbacks or forfeiture of accrued benefits in defined benefit pension plans.

Extended Profile

Matt also often writes and speaks on ERISA litigation updates and developments. In addition to his ERISA practice, Matt handles other large class or collective action employment disputes, including frequently defending employers across the United States against both off-the-clock and misclassification claims under the FLSA and state wage and hour laws.

Before joining Morgan Lewis, Matt served as a judicial clerk for Judge Michael S. Kanne of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and was court counsel for the Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau.

Education

  • Purdue University, 2003, B.A., With Honors
  • University of North Carolina School of Law, 2006, J.D., With High Honors

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Clerkships

  • Clerkship to Judge Michael Kanne of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2008 - 2009)

Awards and Affiliations

Member, Practice Group of the Year, Employment, Law360 (2017)

Member, American Bar Association

Member, Illinois State Bar Association

Publications

8/25/2014 - Chicago Litigation Departments of the Year: A Special Report

June 2014 - Age Discrimination in Pension Plans – The Latest, Bender’s Labor & Employment Bulletin, Vol. 14 Issue 6

December 2013 - Supreme Court to Decide Applicability of the “Prudence Presumption” in ERISA Stock Cases: ESOP and 401(k) Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries, Take Note

News

2/29/2016 - Chicago Labor & Employment Team Named Litigation Department of the Year

8/26/2014 - Morgan Lewis’s Chicago Labor and Employment Practice Honored by The National Law Journal

8/25/2014 - Chicago Litigation Departments of the Year: A Special Report