Bob Eccles
Partner
Bob Eccles is a partner in O'Melveny's Washington, DC office. His practice focuses on ERISA litigation and in providing advice pertaining to Title I of ERISA and other statutes affecting employee benefit plans. Bob joined the firm in 1988 after 15 years as an attorney for the federal government, including five years as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice and ten years as an ERISA attorney at the Department of Labor (DOL). From 1982 to 1988, he was Associate Solicitor of Labor in charge of DOL attorneys who conducted litigation and provided legal advice under ERISA.
Bob has provided advice or handled litigation under ERISA and related statutes for a broad range of clients including CIGNA, Humana, Ford, Verizon, and many other corporations, institutions, and individuals.
In addition, Bob represents individual fiduciaries and institutions in dealings with federal ERISA agencies and provides advice to corporations, employee benefit plans, and financial institutions that are regular clients of the firm. He appears regularly in federal district and appellate courts throughout the country and has argued in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bob was named among the top 10 Labor & Employment lawyers in the Washington, DC area by
Legal Times magazine as part of its "Leading Lawyers" series. Bob also was selected for inclusion in
The Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits law.
Chambers USA also selected Bob as a Leading Lawyer in Employee Benefits/Litigation.
Illustrative Professional Experience
- Represented U.S. Trust in its successful trial and appeal in Keach v. U.S. Trust, a case claiming breach of fiduciary duty in connection with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan
- Represented the Department of Labor in numerous precedent-setting suits under ERISA's fiduciary duty provisions, including Donovan v. Bierwirth, and Freund v. M&I Bank
- Represented Humana in litigation challenging the handling of provider discounts (Forsyth v. Humana), and in multi-district litigation attacking managed care practices and disclosures
- Represented Ford in the successful defense of an action challenging the treatment of benefits in divestiture (Andes v. Ford Motor Company)
- Represented CIGNA companies in securing dismissal of claims that alleged that nondisclosure of physician compensation arrangements violated ERISA fiduciary duties (Weiss v. CIGNA, and Ehlmann v. Kaiser Foundation)
- Represented Executives of Columbia-HCA (now HCA-The Healthcare Company) who prevailed against claims in Landgraff v. Columbia v. HCA that they breached fiduciary duties by failing to sell company stock held by the Stock Bonus Plan
- Represented Curtiss-Wright in Joyce v. Curtiss-Wright Corp. which upheld the company's right to terminate a welfare benefits plan
Professional Activities
Admitted to Practice, U.S. Supreme Court; numerous federal appeals and district courts
Member, Employee Benefits Committees of American Bar Association Sections on Labor and Employment Law, Taxation, and Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law
Co-Chair, ERISA Litigation seminar for Glasser LegalWorks
Co-Editor, ERISA Litigation Reporter Author, "Fiduciary Litigation Under ERISA"
Speaker, ABA, ALI-ABA, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, PLI, and other programs on ERISA litigation, preemption, and fiduciary issues
Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel