Marla Kreindler said she first got hooked on ERISA law because "it's not always so obvious."
When taking her first ERISA seminar at the University of Michigan Law School, Ms. Kreindler found an interest in "looking at so many different rules and regulations," she said.
As a summer associate at Miller Canfield PLC, Ms. Kreindler worked on an employee benefits project, which further solidified her choice to practice in that area of law.
Today, as a partner in the employee benefits practice group at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, she is one of the lawyers with the most experience in her specialization, having practiced for 35 years.
"Marla Kreindler is a true trailblazer in the practice of management and investment of employee benefit plan assets and tax-qualified retirement plans," said Craig A. Bitman, partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, in his nomination letter.
Ms. Kreindler said she works with ERISA-governed retirement plans and governmental retirement plans on investment and fiduciary governance, as well as risk management and contract documentation.
She is also one of the founders of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association, a non-profit association dedicated to improving Americans' retirement security.
She now serves as counsel to DCIIA and helps out with the association's various committees, such as the public policy committee.
Her parents taught her the importance of hard work, she said, but also encouraged her to be herself as a woman in a male-dominated field. She now coaches other women to do the same, and suggests they follow their own path to success.
