Douglas L. Greenfield

Douglas L. Greenfield, who died in 2020 at age 61, was a noted employee benefits lawyer and a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, having been inducted into the College in 2007.

Doug graduated from Stanford University in Stanford, California, earned a Masters from Claremont University in Claremont, California, and attended Temple Law School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 1989, Doug moved to Washington, DC where he joined Bredhoff & Kaiser to focus his legal talents on helping advance organized labor. Over his thirty-year career at Bredhoff & Kaiser, Doug was well-regarded throughout the American labor movement not only for his expertise in employee benefits law, but also for his creativity and judgment. Within the firm, countless colleagues turned to him for mentorship and for forthright and expert guidance.

Throughout his career, he served as valued counsel to pension and health funds of many labor organizations. His deep understanding of formidably technical matters was coupled with an equally deep appreciation of the consequences and realities faced by his clients and their members. Doug pioneered innovative financing vehicles to preserve and enhance retirement benefits for tens of thousands of workers in the automotive, steel, paper, and other industries, many of whom were represented by the United Steelworkers, one of Doug’s longest-standing clients. Doug was known for being able to listen to all sides, zero in on the important issues, and provide practical options for solving the most complex problems.

Doug also used his time and employee benefits expertise to give back to the public. In 2017, United States Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez appointed Doug to serve as a member of the ERISA Advisory Council, a body that advised the Secretary of Labor and submitted recommendations regarding the Secretary’s functions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The 2017 Council with Doug’s participation as an issue vice chair developed recommendations for less burdensome and more effective ways to deliver mandated content for health and welfare summary annual reports, annual notices, and summary plan descriptions. Doug served as an issue vice chair of the Council from 2017-2019.


Photo Source: Dignity Memorial (2020) https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/silver-spring-md/douglas-greenfield-9929420