Maureen O'Brien is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s Chicago office. She focuses her practice on advising clients on a broad range of employee benefits matters, including qualified plan design, welfare plan design, employee benefit plan compliance issues, fiduciary matters, multiemployer pension plan issues and nonqualified deferred compensation plans.
Prior to joining the Firm, Maureen was a partner in the employee benefits group at an international law firm. She advises a wide variety of clients, including public companies, private equity and venture capital funds, and private companies regarding employee benefits issues. Maureen has extensive experience in advising clients regarding issues affecting employee benefit plans in sales, acquisitions, spin-offs and other corporate transactions. She advises clients on employee benefits issues arising from restructuring proceedings, including plan terminations. Maureen also advises clients with respect to multiemployer plan withdrawal liability issues. She has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service with respect to corrections under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System and with respect to favorable determination letter applications, minimum funding waiver applications and private letter rulings. Maureen has also represented clients before the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation with respect to defined benefit plan termination issues and before the U.S. Department of Labor with respect to audits and prohibited transaction exemption applications.
Maureen is a member of the American Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. She is admitted to practice in Illinois.
Education
- Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D. (with high honors), 1998
- University of California-Los Angeles, B.A., 1995
