Robert N. Eccles

Bob Eccles passed away in 2022 at age 74. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel in 2006.

Bob received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University in 1969 and 1972, respectively. Following graduation from law school, he served as a trial attorney for five years in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. He then began his career as an ERISA (the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974”) litigator with the Department of Labor, where he worked for 10 years. From 1982 to 1988, he was Associate Solicitor of Labor, one of the most senior legal positions in the department. As counsel for the department, he was the government’s chief ERISA litigator. Among his most notable victories on behalf of the Secretary of Labor was the oft-cited case of Donovan v. Bierwirth, which established important principles associated with the standard of care for fiduciaries facing a conflict of interest.

After leaving government service, he became the leader of O’Melveny and Myer’s nationwide employee benefits practice for many years, practicing out of the DC office. Bob advised a broad range of ERISA clients, including employee benefit plans, plan sponsors, and service providers, with a focus on litigation. His roster of clients included U.S. Trust, Fidelity, CIGNA, Humana, Ford, Verizon, and other prominent institutions, as well as individuals. Bob was an ERISA pioneer, successfully defending his client in the first ERISA case brought against a financial services provider for investing its employees’ retirement plans in so-called proprietary funds.

For a number of years, Bob co-wrote (with David Gordon) the “ERISA Litigation Reporter,” which is considered the definitive ERISA litigation treatise by many practitioners.

Bob was an elite courtroom lawyer who paired a charming, soft-spoken manner with an intellectual intensity. Chambers and Partners legal rankings named him a “senior statesman” for his life’s work. As brilliant as he was as a thinker, he was humble, self-effacing, understated, and utterly without ego. When victories were won, all accomplishments were team accomplishments.

Bob as an opponent exemplified how to conduct oneself honorably as a lawyer. All those who knew Bob understood that he was the consummate professional who could be trusted not to lie or even stretch the truth. It is telling that despite his practice in litigation of thorny legal matters which had the potential to leave ill-feelings amongst those involved, Bob stood out as an individual whom everyone-even those whom he had opposed in litigation-truly liked and respected.

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