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Employee Benefits attorneys and non-attorney benefits professionals are in high demand, whether they work in a law firm, accounting or consulting firm, financial institution, in-house, or with a governmental agency. As ERISA and the Income Tax Code are federal laws, employee benefits practitioners can easily find employment throughout the nation, in metropolitan cities like Chicago, Washington DC and New York, or in suburban or rural areas as well. While most of our graduates will be on a business consulting team, helping employers to deliver retirement, executive compensation or health and welfare benefits to their employees, many are finding niche opportunities as experts in ERISA litigation when a disgruntled employee sues the plan. Additionally, as failed pension plans and denied health benefits continue to be front page news stories, many employment opportunities in public policy think tanks, foundations, associations and academia are opening up all the time.
Whatever type of employer, and wherever located, there is a constant demand for competent attorneys and benefits professionals to hit the ground running - and that's what you will get with your graduate Employee Benefits degree. You can tell your prospective employer that on the first day you are employed, whatever client emergency unfolds, you will recognize the basic principles of the law and where you can go for further research or resolution. That's the value of either the LLM or MS degrees in Employee Benefits - a basic understanding of the law and a noticeably reduced learning curve over any other similarly situated candidate.
The John Marshall Law School in Chicago remains the only law school in the nation to offer graduate Employee Benefits degrees to attorneys and non-attorney benefits professionals. Chicago is a major metropolitan stronghold of firms and financial institutions, as well as unions and non-profit organizations, that are potential employers of our students while matriculating or upon graduation. There are also numerous opportunities to network at bar associations and professional societies. Please note that no classes are offered through distance learning yet, but as the institution goes forward and begins to offer classes over the internet or other distance learning opportunities, The Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits will certainly develop and offer as many electronic classes as possible, while keeping the integrity and recognition of the graduate degrees as strong as possible.
For further information about any of the graduate Employee Benefits programs at The John Marshall Law School, please click here or contact any one of us. Thanks.
Prof. Kathryn J. Kennedy, Director
7kennedy@jmls.edu (312) 427-2737 x515
Barry Kozak, Associate Director of the graduate EB programs
6kozak@jmls.edu (312) 427-2737 x524
Kathy Winiczay, Program Coordinator
6winicza@jmls.edu (312) 427-2737 x380
Steven Szydelko, Program Coordinator
6szydelko@jmls.edu (312) 427-2737 x313
Melissa McCollister, Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions 6mccolli@jmls.edu (312) 427-2737 x658
The MISSION of the Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits (for all of the graduate Tax Law programs and the graduate Employee Benefits programs) is multi-fold:
to offer graduate degrees with rigorous academic standards for students to effectively practice in their chosen area of expertise;
to foster research for better understanding of the multi-disciplinary aspects of the law;
to encourage student participation in the relevant bar association committees;
and to host academic forums to educate the bar and the community.
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