Law Firms Accused of Misusing Employee 401(k) Funds in Violation of ERISA

November 19, 2025
Hall Benefits Law, LLC

Plan participants filed a class action suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) against their employer, Husch Blackwell LLP, a Kansas City law firm. The suit alleges that the law firm misused employee 401(k) contributions to fund operating expenses and other breaches of fiduciary duty.

The suit, which is now pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, alleges that Husch Blackwell routinely took funds withheld from employee paychecks as 401(k) plan contributions. Instead of timely and regularly sending the contributed funds to the 401(k) plan as required, Husch Blackwell placed the funds in its general operating account and used them to pay for its operating expenses. By failing to deposit the employees’ funds into the 401(k) plan as required, often for months at a time, Husch Blackwell allegedly deprived access for the plan, participants, and beneficiaries to invest those funds and gain returns. The suit characterizes these actions as violating ERISA’s anti-inurement provision, breaching the fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty, and engaging in “prohibited transactions.”

Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, one of the law firms that filed the suit, has had several significant ERISA class action lawsuit settlements over the past few years. Earlier this year, the firm achieved a record-breaking $69 million settlement in its suit with UnitedHealth Group. In 2024, the firm, along with co-counsel, obtained a $61 million settlement in a suit against General Electric.

HBL has experience in all areas of benefits and employment law, offering a comprehensive solution to all your business benefits and HR/employment needs. We help ensure you are in compliance with the complex requirements of ERISA and the IRS code, as well as those laws that impact you and your employees. Together, we reduce your exposure to potential legal or financial penalties. Learn more by calling 470-571-1007.

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Hall Benefits Law, LLC

HBL offers employers comprehensive legal guidance on benefits in mergers and acquisitions, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), executive compensation, health and welfare benefits, healthcare reform, and retirement plans. We counsel a wide spectrum of clients including small, mid-sized, and large companies, 401(k) investment advisors, health insurance brokers, accountants, attorneys, and HR consultants, just to name a few. HBL is passionate about advising clients, and we are dedicated to our mission: to provide comprehensive, personalized, and practical ERISA and benefits legal solutions that exceed client expectations.

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