Michigan Employee Benefits Law Conference: Regulation of Benefit Plans: The Most Consequential Subject to Which No One Pays Enough Attention

On Friday, March 22, 2013, the University of Michigan Business School will host the Second Annual National ERISA Conference. This year's conference is entitled: Regulation of Benefit Plans: The Most Consequential Subject to Which No One Pays Enough Attention. 

Phyllis Borzi, head of the Employee Benefit Security Administration, is set to give remarks at lunch, and Joshua Gotbaum, head of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), is set to moderate a panel and give closing remarks.

Here is what the rest of program looks like:

“Meta” Analysis of ERISA 8:45—10:10 AM

Moderated by: Sean M. Anderson, University of Illinois College of Law

Cultural Cognition Insights into Judicial Decision Making in Employee Benefits Cases
Paul Secunda, Marquette University Law School

Synthetic Common Law:  Reducing the Complexity of Employee Benefits Law
Andrew Stumpff, University of Michigan Law School

An Anatomy of ERISA Claims Administration
James A. Wooten, SUNY Buffalo Law School

Drivers of Benefits Policy Choices 10:20 AM—12:05 PM

Moderated by: Barry Kozak, The John Marshall Law School

Rethinking ERISA's Promise of Income Security in a World of 401(k) Plans
Lawrence A. Frolik, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

The Intersection of ERISA, ACA, and sub rosa Tort Reform
Brendan Maher, Oklahoma City University

Legislation by Fiat: The PPACA’s Approach to Health Care Coverage
Jayne Zanglein, Western Carolina University

A Comparative Lens 1:15—3:00 PM

Moderated by: Regina Jefferson, Columbus School of Law

The Cost of ‘Choice’ in a Voluntary Pension System
Jonathan Barry Forman, University of Oklahoma College of Law & G.A. (Sandy) Mackenzie, Editor, Journal of Retirement & Pension Consultant

The Role of the Employer in Health Care: A Comparison of the United States and France
Kathryn L. Moore, University of Kentucky College of Law

The Allocation of Regulatory Authority for Pensions: U.S. Experience and International Alternatives
John A. Turner, Pension Policy Center

Fiduciary and Governance 3:10—4:55 PM

Moderated by: Joshua Gotbaum, PBGC Director

A 2.4 Trillion Dollar Question: Do Public Pension Plan Governance Provisions Matter?
Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, & Amy B. Monahan, University of Minnesota Law School

Two Hats, One Head, No Heart: The Anatomy of ERISA's Settlor/Fiduciary Distinction
Dana M. Muir, University of Michigan Ross School of Business & Norman P. Stein, Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law

Trust Variation and ERISA’s Misbegotten “Presumption of Prudence”
Peter J. Wiedenbeck, Washington University School of Law

Fiduciary Duty in Investment: ERISA's Empty Signifier Filled by Wall Street
Jay Youngdahl, Harvard University

Quite an impressive group of speakers; an ERISA's geek dream!

If you would like to register for the event, there is only limited space avaialble. Please email conference co-organizer, Dana Muir at [email protected] if you would like to attend.

PS