Of Counsel

Joseph C. Faucher has been litigating cases in state and federal trial courts and appellate courts since 1988, and is of counsel to the firm's Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group. He has litigated a wide range of business and commercial disputes, including unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation claims, real estate syndication disputes, litigation arising out of the purchase and sale of businesses, insurance and surety bond coverage and bad faith claims, professional negligence claims and landlord/tenant disputes.

In recent years, Joe's litigation practice has focused heavily on ERISA and employee benefits matters, including claims for breach of fiduciary duty against retirement plan fiduciaries, claims for benefits against retirement plans, disability insurance plans, health insurance plans and life insurance plans and claims against surety bond companies.

Joe has also represented numerous benefit plan service providers, such as third party administrators, actuaries, registered investment advisers and insurance carriers.

In addition to his litigation practice, Joe actively counsels clients regarding risk management and insurance coverage issues, and, in the employee benefit context, helps clients comply with applicable Department of Labor regulations.

Some examples of Joe's ERISA and employee benefit litigation experience are:

• Defense of multiple employer welfare arrangement fiduciaries in connection with Department of Labor investigation.
• Defense of a defined benefit pension plan trustee against
  claims of breach of fiduciary duty arising out of an alleged failure to prudently invest plan assets.
• Trial counsel for an ESOP sponsor and trustee, relating to claim of breach of fiduciary duty by present and former plan participants.
• Representation of a defense contractor through a successful appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in connection with benefit and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
• Defense counsel for bank alleged to have breached fiduciary duties in purported failure to diversify retirement plan assets. Defense of national insurance company in multiple actions involving claims for benefits by participants in employer-funded health care and disability plans.
• Defense of insurance agent in federal district court ERISA action by U.S. Department of Labor, relating to sale by agent of self- insured health plans to staff leasing companies.
• Defense of a third party administrator against claims of malpractice by a plan sponsor who was under investigation by the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.
• Appellate counsel for stop-loss insurer of self-funded health care plan, in action involving dispute over the plan's subrogation rights in a medical malpractice action.
• Trial and appellate counsel for national insurance carrier in dispute over applicability of health plan's stop-loss provisions.

Prior to joining the firm, Joe was a partner of the law firm of Reish & Reicher. He has been named a Southern California "Super Lawyer" in the area of employee benefits several years running. He is admitted to practice in California and before all of the U.S. District Courts in the State of California, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Joe has argued several cases before the California Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.