Thomas Vasiljevich

Thomas Vasiljevich is a shareholder in the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice group and has over 30 years of experience representing and advising clients on a broad range of employee benefits issues arising under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code and related federal and state laws and regulations.

Mr. Vasiljevich serves as employee benefits counsel to a variety of publicly and privately owned employers and large multiemployer (Taft-Hartley) pension, annuity and welfare funds.

He is a nationally recognized expert in the representation of multiemployer plans, its fiduciaries, contributing employers and employer associations and the myriad of issues arising from such relationships including plan funding, governance and privacy issues, fiduciary responsibility, collective bargaining benefits issues, prosecution and defense of withdrawal liability disputes and ERISA litigation.

Education:

• LL.M. (Taxation) IIT – Chicago Kent College of Law, 1987
• J.D., DePaul University College of Law, 1982
• B.A., Economics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1979

Admitted to Practice:

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

Experience:

• Multiemployer (Taft-Hartley) Plans.  Mr. Vasiljevich serves as employer side Fund Co-Counsel to a number of Taft-Hartley pension, annuity and welfare funds (primarily in the construction industry) covering, in the aggregate, nearly 200,000 covered lives and maintaining in excess of $8 billion in Plan assets.  He provides day to day legal advice and counsel to Trustees and Plan officials in connection with compliance with applicable laws and their interaction with participants, Fund Office employees, contributing employers, governmental agencies and other service providers.
• Plan Investments.  Mr. Vasiljevich has reviewed, drafted and negotiated 100s of investment management agreements/side letters for ERISA benefit plan investor clients and has had extensive involvement in investment committee meetings and creation of investment policy statements.
• Controversies and Litigation.  Mr. Vasiljevich regularly represents clients in connection with DOL and IRS audits involving pension, annuity and welfare plans, IRS plan correction procedures, withdrawal liability disputes, Trustee deadlocks, benefit claims and appeals litigation and other ERISA related litigation.

Professional Activities:

• American Bar Association (Federal Tax and Labor and Employment Sections)
• Chicago Bar Association (Federal Tax and Employee Benefits Committees)
• International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (Member)
• Associated General Contractors of America Multi-Employer Pension Task Force
• University of Wisconsin Alumni Association (Member)