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Trusted Legal Services for Employee Benefit Plans
For over 50 years, Barlow & Coughran, P.S. has provided legal services to employee benefit plans and their fiduciaries. The firm represents a number of pension and profit-sharing plans (including 401(k) plans), health and welfare plans (including HRA plans), apprenticeship plans, vacation plans, and joint labor-management cooperative committees. The firm has clients in both the private and public sectors.
Comprehensive Legal Support for Joint Labor-Management Trust Funds
In the private sector, Barlow & Coughran, P.S. provides legal services to numerous joint labor-management trust funds. These funds cover participants in a number of states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Minnesota. The firm's attorneys are admitted to practice in Washington, California, Oregon, Alaska, and Minnesota. Representative Taft-Hartley clients include labor-management funds in the following industries:
- Construction (Operating Engineers, Laborers, Electricians, Plumbers, Sheet Metal Workers, and Heat & Frost Workers);
- Fishing and Maritime (Longshoremen, Inland Boatmen, and Masters, Mates, and Pilots);
- Retail and Office Workers (Clerks, Service Employees);
- Manufacturing and Warehousing (Machinists, Metal Fabricators, Warehousemen, and Millmen); and
- Transportation (Teamsters, Automotive Machinists).
Dedicated Legal Counsel for Public Sector Employee Benefits
In the public sector, the firm serves as special counsel to the Washington Education Association with respect to its fringe benefit programs and the School District No. 1 Health Trust. Other public sector clients include plans administered by firefighter and police groups.
Expertise in ERISA and Employee Benefit Compliance
The attorneys in the firm work in-depth with the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 as amended (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code, the Taft-Hartley Act, relevant state statutes, and the related administrative regulations and court decisions.
The attorneys advise plan sponsors and fiduciaries on all aspects of plan administration, including governmental compliance and the establishment of new plans. The firm has represented numerous clients undergoing U.S. Department of Labor investigations and IRS audits.
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