John A. Litwinski is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Firm’s Chicago office. As a member of the Trial Department, John handles various types of civil litigation matters, including product liability and insurance coverage matters, and has extensive experience in the area of employment benefits litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
John’s ERISA practice involves counseling and defending companies, officers and directors, and other alleged ERISA plan fiduciaries against claims for breach of fiduciary duty in class actions arising after company stock price declines or changes to pension plans. John represents companies in disputes regarding changes to retiree medical benefits, including a recent case for a major manufacturer involving the transfer of billions of dollars in health care liabilities to a VEBA. He also represents companies and their ERISA plans in defending claims for wrongful denial of employee benefits. John recently published an article entitled "Case Imperils Rights of ERISA Fiduciaries" in the March/April 2009 edition of ABA Trust & Investments. John also recently published an article on “Fiduciary Breach Suits Against Companies, Officers, and Directors Under ERISA” in Volume 20 of the Benefits Law Journal.
John's product liability practice involves advising companies facing potential product recalls, as well as companies seeking compliance with the lead and phthalate rules under the CPSIA, California Proposition 65, and other product and packaging legislation. John recently worked with a manufacturer through the entire process of a CPSC product recall, and has advised other manufacturers on compliance with product safety rules under various federal and state laws.
Before joining McDermott, John was an associate in the litigation department of a large law firm in Boston. While in law school, John was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics and taught legal research and writing to first-year law students.
John is admitted to practice in state court in Illinois, and in various federal courts in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Michigan. John has appeared Pro Hac Vice for clients in various other states.
Education
- Georgetown University, J.D., 2001
- London School of Economics and Political Science, M.Sc., 1998
- Johns Hopkins University, B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa), 1997
Languages Spoken
- English
- German
- Polish
