Ellen (Nell) A. Hennessy

Ellen (Nell) A. Hennessy, who died in 2011 at age 61, was a nationally recognized expert on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), leader in the benefits profession, and a tireless champion for the rights of plan participants and pension plans. A member of the Committee on the formation of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (the “College”) and a member of its initial Board of Governors, she was inducted as a Charter Fellow in 2000.

Nell received her B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University in 1971, her J.D. from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in 1978, where she was a member of Law Review, and her L.L.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1984.

After beginning her legal career as an attorney in the Office of the IRS Chief Counsel and then the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”), she was a partner at the Wall Street law firms, Strook & Strook & Lavin and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

As Deputy Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of the PBGC from 1993 to 1998 (appointed by President Clinton), she headed PBGC’s Early Warning Program which was awarded one of the first federal Innovations in American Government Awards by the Ford Foundation and the Harvard School of Government. She was President and CEO of Fiduciary Counselors, an independent fiduciary firm she founded in 1999.

Nell was a model and mentor to many in the field of employee benefits and worked to educate both lawyers and other benefits professionals in the intricacies of employee benefits law and practice. For many years, she was an active member of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) Joint Committee on Employee Benefits and the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Committee in the Business Law Section, including a term as chair. She served on the ABA Standing Committees on Continuing Legal Education and Technology and Information Systems. She also was a member of the ABA Presidential Task Force on Corporate Responsibility.

College Fellow Howard Shapiro recalled one of Nell’s many contributions as a leader in the profession: “Nell, representing [ABA] Business Law Section, worked with me, representing the Labor & Employment Law Section, as we collaborated in 1987 to create the first ERISA Basics National Institute. This was a three-day program that touched on all aspects of ERISA practice at a "basic" level and included compliance, tax, and litigation. It was aimed at first-second year associates as they entered an ERISA practice and provided a comprehensive view of an ERISA career in a law firm. It was immediately successful and attracted wide swaths of practitioners. It was a pathway showing how the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits could work ‘across the aisle’ to have two sections combine on programming when in the past Joint Committee on Employee Benefits programs were undertaken and steered by only one Section. Thus, this program was important for the growth of the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits and the propagation of ERISA Continuing Legal Education generally.”

Starting in 1985, she was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where she helped develop the graduate certificate program in employee benefits. She was a founding member and past President of the Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (“WEB”). College Fellow Phyllis Borzi, a Catholic Law classmate and longtime friend, recalled Nell’s many strengths and contributions to the profession and to the benefits world which Phyllis knew well through working with Nell often over many years.

Nell’s accomplishments as a leader in the field were impressive, but Nell’s approach to life – her energy, enthusiasm, leadership, passion and compassionate personality also set her apart. Nell never did anything halfway. She had an open door policy when it came to sharing her wealth of experience with others, whether it was her employees, colleagues, recent graduates, friends, family or anyone with a question. No matter how busy she was, if someone needed help, she would make herself available.

Nell was both exhilarating and exhausting to work with – it was often hard for people to keep up with her boundless energy, her constant stream of ideas and suggestions and her unbelievable intellectual curiosity. In her professional career, she was a fearless defender of individuals and retirees. She would take on anyone, no matter how powerful, in her defense of those whom she believed had been treated unfairly by the system or by their employers. She was outspoken and articulate, not afraid to speak truth to power, although sometimes her bluntness could wound.

Among her many interests, Nell was a proud part owner of the Irish Channel Restaurants in downtown Washington, DC and Crofton, MD. It gave her great pleasure to entertain friends and colleagues at the restaurants and she participated in the St. Patrick's Day Parade every year on the Irish Channel float. Nell was a whitewater paddler and served as a judge for the whitewater slalom competition at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA.

The College’s Annual Ellen A. (Nell) Hennessy Employee Benefits Moot Court Competition was named in her memory—a fearless advocate for the rights of employee benefit plan participants and retirees. Nell’s legacy lay in great part to her commitment to mentorship and leadership development of students, particularly in the important area of employee benefits. She was a giant in the employee benefits world but to her colleagues and those students whom she befriended and supported over the years, she was always remembered for her generosity, her intellect, and her compassion.

Sources: “The Legacy of Nell Hennessy” Feb. 22, 2020.
https://www.acebc.com/public-docs/hennessy_bio.pdf

Photo Source: The Decade Book, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel 2000-2010