In Memoriam: 1952-2010

William J. Flanagan was a partner at Crowell & Moring who specialized in employee benefits matters. He was a member of the firm's Labor and Employment and Corporate groups, and assisted the firm's Health Care and Securities practices in matters relating to employee benefits.

Bill had over 25 years of experience with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"). He represented major insurance companies, Fortune 500 companies, institutional money and investment managers and employee benefit plans in all areas covered by Title I of ERISA. He provided counseling and representation on a full range of ERISA issues, including plan administration and fiduciary duties, plan investments and investment management, plan design for qualified plans, welfare plans and non-qualified executive deferred compensation plans, health care reporting and coverage issues (including COBRA and HIPAA), and ERISA compliance analyses and reviews. He represented clients before the Department of Labor in numerous prohibited transaction exemption and advisory opinion proceedings. Additional practice areas included advice regarding age and disability discrimination issues, matters relating to the Family Medical Leave Act, and other employment-related areas.

Bill began his ERISA career with the Department of Labor's Office of the Solicitor, Plan Benefits Security Division, where he was Assistant Counsel for Regulation. In that capacity, he helped formulate ERISA policy in a variety of areas, including class exemptions for plan investments in securities and real estate; regulations regarding participant loans and "top hat" plans; and legislative and advisory work involving plan terminations and COBRA. Bill was also a law clerk for retired U.S. District Court Judge Thomas A. Flannery in the District of Columbia. Bill was a graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service (B.S.F.S. 1974 summa cum laude) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D. 1977), where he was articles editor for the American Criminal Law Review and where he also served as an Adjunct Professor in the graduate employee benefits and tax program.