Chicago Law Firm Fiduciaries Barred After $6.4M Retirement Fund Held Back
Four partners of a defunct Chicago law firm failed to distribute retirement assets to 40 employees, prompting federal intervention and a court order.
A federal court has ordered the distribution of more than $6.4 million in retirement assets to former employees of a defunct Chicago law firm after the firm's partners repeatedly failed to comply with their own 2019 resolution requiring the plan's termination, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a consent order on Aug. 18, 2026, resolving Labor Department claims against McCullough, Campbell & Lane LLP and four of its capital partners: David L. Joslyn, John W. McCullough, F. Dennis Nelson, and Paul S. Turner. The department alleged the partners violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by not following through on a partnership agreement to wind down the plan and pay out its roughly $6.5 million in assets to 40 participants.
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By the time the consent order was entered, the defendants had provided proof that the bulk of those funds had been distributed, leaving approximately $13,861 outstanding in employer-level accounts. The court's order requires the plan's recordkeeper to disburse those remaining funds and formally terminate the plan. Separately, account balances belonging to participants who could not be located were transferred to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Missing Participants Program.
All four partners have been permanently barred from serving as fiduciaries or service providers for any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan — a significant professional consequence given their legal backgrounds. Kelli Hammerl, regional director of the Employee Benefits Security Administration in Chicago, said the case illustrates the department's commitment to ensuring workers receive retirement benefits they were promised, even after an employer ceases operations.
The Labor Department noted that employers facing similar compliance challenges can use EBSA's Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program to self-correct violations and potentially avoid excise taxes on prohibited transactions. Assistance is available at askebsa.dol.gov or by calling 866-444-3272. Continue reading at DOL News Releases and Briefs.
