John A. Litwinski is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery and is based in the Firm’s Chicago office. He focuses his practice on employee benefits litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as well as on investigations and product recalls involving the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and insurance bad faith disputes.
John’s ERISA practice involves defending companies, executives, and plan fiduciaries against claims arising after changes to benefit plans or company stock price declines. He has represented numerous employers in class action litigation involving defined benefit, 401(k) and health plans, including claims of fiduciary breach, misrepresentation, inadequate disclosure and improper reduction of benefits. John also represented a major automobile manufacturer in multibillion dollar litigation involving the transfer of retiree health care liabilities to a VEBA. John has published numerous recent articles in the area of ERISA litigation, including "Class Certification After LaRue" in Benefits Law Journal, "Case Imperils Rights of ERISA Fiduciaries" in ABA Trust & Investments, and “Fiduciary Breach Suits Against Companies, Officers, and Directors Under ERISA” in Benefits Law Journal.
John's product liability practice involves advising companies facing product recalls, as well as companies seeking compliance with the CPSA, CPSIA, California Proposition 65, and other product and packaging legislation. He has handled numerous product recalls and CPSC investigations. John’s insurance dispute practice involves advising and defending insurance companies accused of acting in bad faith toward their insureds.
In addition to his other work, John maintains an active pro bono practice in the area of political asylum. In connection with this work, John has been appointed to the Leadership Council of the National Immigrant Justice Center. In addition, John has been interviewed on radio and by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times for his representation of Chicago’s historic Pilgrim Baptist Church as it works to rebuild its landmark 1890 building following a fire.
Before joining McDermott in 2005, 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.
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
