James P. Baker
Partner
San Francisco
Tel: 1.415.875.5721
Fax: 1.415.875.5700
Email:
jpbaker@jonesday.com
Profile | Experience | Publications | Speaking Engagements
Related Services
Jim Baker cochairs the Firm's employee benefits and executive compensation practice. Mr. Baker was recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the 40 best ERISA/employee benefit attorneys in the United States and is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Chambers USA has selected Mr. Baker as one of "America's Leading Lawyers" nationally for ERISA litigation, The Legal 500-United States ranked him as a leading ERISA expert, and the Bay Area Lawyer Magazine has chosen him as one of the San Francisco area's "Super Lawyers." Mr. Baker acts as an early neutral evaluator for ERISA cases for the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California.
His work emphasizes defending plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries in complex employee benefits litigation and class actions, including claims of breach of fiduciary duty, plan asset misappropriation, and wrongful denial of benefits. His nonlitigation practice includes counseling employers on all aspects of employee benefit plans. His recent employee benefits case victories include:
U.A. Local 38 Pension Trust Fund Trustees
• Chao v. Mazzola, et al., Case No. 04-4949 (N.D. Cal. 2007). Following a five-year investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor sued the U.A. Local 38 pension trustees for imprudently "reallocating" $70 million in pension and other ERISA trust fund assets to the Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa. All claims involving the U.A. Local 38 trustees were dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a consent order agreed to in 2007. The trustees denied any wrongdoing and none of the trustees paid a penny in settling this dispute.
Capgemini
• Sullivan v. Capgemini, 518 F. Supp. 2d 983 (N.D. Ohio 2007). Employer granted summary judgment where court ruled employee's release of all claims at the termination of employment trumped her claim to an additional $12,500 per month in long-term disability benefits.
Southern Company
• Spivey v. Southern Company, 427 F. Supp. 2d 1144 (N.D. Ga. 2006) (class action). Summary judgment granted to Southern Company. Named class representative's billion dollar "stock drop" fiduciary breach lawsuit completely dismissed because the plaintiff failed to exhaust the 401(k) plan's claim review procedure before filing suit.
ACF Industries
• Chapman v. ACF Industries, LLC, 430 F. Supp. 2d 570 (S.D. W. Va. 2006) (class action). Defeated claim that retiree medical benefits were unchangeable under ERISA and the LMRA. Summary judgment granted to ACF Industries.
State of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Board
• City of Eugene v. State Public Employees Retirement Board, 339 Or. 113 (2005). Negotiated "win-win" settlement with public employers in $2 billion pension contribution dispute and then prevailed in defending it from union attack before the Oregon Supreme Court.
• Strunk v. Oregon Public Employee Retirement Board, 338 Or. 145 (2005) (class action). As special counsel to the Oregon Public Employees' Retirement Board, successfully defended a majority of $9 billion in statutory reforms to the Public Employees Retirement System.
• Henderson v. State of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Board (D. Or. 2004), Case No. CV-74-538 (class action). Won summary judgment for plan trustees during 2004 in $1.6 billion pension plan benefit calculation dispute.
T. Rowe Price
• In re Administrative Committee ERISA Litigation, 2005 WL 3454126 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 16, 2005). Defeated motion to certify class and convinced trial court to dismiss this stock drop case where plaintiffs sought $30 million in damages by establishing class representative had no standing.
• Ogden v. Americredit Corp., 225 F.R.D. 529 (N.D. Tex. 2005) (class action). Motion to deny class certification granted in "stock drop" case by showing the putative class representative did not meet the "adequacy" standards of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(4).
• McDonald v. Entergy Operations, Inc., 2004 WL 3398451 (S.D. Miss.). Motion to dismiss granted with prejudice in claim for plan benefits and claim for penalties for failing to provide requested information.
Chevron Corporation
• Jones v. Chevron Corporation, 2005 WL 3676786 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 14, 2005). Obtained summary judgment in a claim for additional pension benefits.
Saint Mary's HealthFirst
• Lewis v. Saint Mary's HealthFirst, 402 F. Supp. 2d 1182 (D. Nev. 2005). Successfully defended HMO in case where a severely injured participant alleged the HMO abused its discretion by denying an ERISA claim for health plan benefits based on the plan's exclusion of coverage for injuries sustained while operating a device under the influence of alcohol.
Bechtel Bettis
• McNeff v. Bechtel-Bettis, Inc., 2004 WL 716711 (W.D. Penn.). Summary judgment obtained in ERISA preemption dispute.
LSI Logic Corporation
• Braden v. LSI Logic Corp., 340 F. Supp. 2d 1066 (N.D. Cal. 2004) (class action). Summary judgment granted in a case establishing the right of an ERISA-regulated severance plan to contain a benefit formula offsetting, dollar for dollar, payments made under the WARN Act.
Cisco Systems
• Cisco Systems, Inc. v. California WCAB, 34 F. App'x. 379 (9th Cir. 2002). Established rule that ERISA prevents California's Workers Compensation Appeals Board from requiring the provision of "free" employee benefits during workers compensation leave.
Household International Tax Reduction Incentive Plan
• Matz v. Household International Tax Reduction Incentive Plan, 265 F.3d 572 (7th Cir. 2001) (class action). Established new law more favorable to plan sponsors concerning partial retirement plan terminations.
Patelco Credit Union
• Patelco Credit Union v. Sahni, 262 F.3d 897 (9th Cir. 2001). Lead attorney at summary judgment; established new law as to fiduciary liability.
TIMEC Company
• Cline v. TIMEC, 200 F.3d 1223 (9th Cir. 2000) (class action). Established new law favorable to plan sponsors as to what constitutes an ERISA-regulated retirement plan.
Mr. Baker is a frequent speaker on employee benefit matters. He is a cochair of the ABA's ERISA and Pension Litigation Subcommittee of the Committee on Business and Corporate Litigation and a contributing editor of the ERISA litigation chapter for the ABA's Business Law Section Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation. He was a featured speaker at the National CLE Conference in Vail, Colorado on January 9, 2008, where he spoke on ERISA preemption of state health care reform efforts. He was also a featured speaker at the 18th Annual ERISA Litigation Conference on September 29, 2005 in San Francisco. He was cochair of the 2003 LexisNexis national ERISA Litigation Conference for Practitioners. He is the contributing editor of the Benefits Law Journal, which is published quarterly. Mr. Baker has authored more than 100 articles on employee benefit issues.
Admitted
California; District of Columbia; United States Supreme Court; U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits; and U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Central, and Eastern Districts of California and the districts of Colorado and Illinois
Education
Georgetown University (LL.M. in Tax 1982); Santa Clara University (American Jurisprudence Award: Labor Law I and Labor Law II; J.D. 1980; B.A. 1975)