Gregory Y. Porter

Greg Porter has extensive trial and class action experience in complex pension, 401(k) plan, and employee stock ownership plan (ESOPs) lawsuits in federal court. Greg has led the firm’s ERISA and trust practice to major trial and appellate victories, including seminal decisions in the Seventh and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeal and a $30 million trial judgment that broke new ground for ESOPs. With co-counsel, the firm’s ERISA practice won a 9-0 decision in the Supreme Court, Intel Corp v. Sulyma, that established key statute of limitations rights for employees in ERISA cases.

Greg has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of employees who lost retirement savings in 401(k) plans and ESOPs. He understands complex financial transactions, investments, and instruments.

Greg has also developed techniques for successfully investigating and prosecuting complex lawsuits involving business valuation, securities lending, hedge funds, and private equity. He is a skilled appellate advocate who has argued appeals in the Second, Fourth, Sixth and Eighth U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.

Awards & Accolades

Chambers USA, Nationwide - Band One - ERISA Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs (2022 and 2023) 

Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - ERISA and Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Washington, D.C. (2022 - 2024)

Government Service / Previous Employment

• United States Army, Infantry Branch
• Executive Director, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

Representative Matters

• Won a $30 million trial judgment in Brundle v. Wilmington Trust, a case involving multiple breaches of duty by the trustee and complex valuation issues in an ESOP transaction; won a complete affirmance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, establishing new law on ESOPs that has been cited nationwide
• Represented Intel employees in Sulyma v. Intel Corp, a case claiming that retirement plan trustees lost substantial retirement savings by investing in hedge funds and private equity. In February 2020, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in favor of our clients, the employees, on a key statute of limitations defense
• Obtained a precedent-setting decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Allen v. GreatBanc Trust Co., which established important pleading standards in ESOP cases
• Settled an ESOP lawsuit for $19.5 million, in Jessop v. Larsen, working closely with the U.S. Department of Labor; yielded an average class member recovery of over $30,000
• Settled a complex securities lending action for $36 million against Northern Trust on behalf of hundreds of retirement plans across the country
• Settled a lawsuit against Franklin Templeton for $26 million where the plaintiffs alleged that Franklin Templeton stuffed its own employee 401(k) plan with Franklin Templeton mutual funds despite a conflict of interest
• Settled a lawsuit against Neuberger Berman for $17 million where the plaintiffs alleged that Neuberger pushed a low-performing and expensive proprietary mutual fund on its own employee 401(k) plan despite a conflict of interest
• Represents employees in multiple pension plan lawsuits claiming that employers used outdated mortality tables, some 50 years old, to improperly calculate pension benefits
• Represents employees in multiple ESOP lawsuits claiming that trustees caused employees to pay more than fair market value for employer stock
• Won a trial on behalf of the defendant in Dupree v. Prudential Insurance Company, where the plaintiffs alleged hundreds of millions of dollars in pension losses

News & Insights

Community and Professional Activities

Employee Benefits Committee, American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section, Member