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Kathryn J. Kennedy
Associate Dean for Advanced Studies & Research
Professor
Director, Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits
The John Marshall Law School
315 South Plymouth Court
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Phone: 312.987.1418
Email: kkennedy@jmls.edu
Office: Room 1627
Office Hours: Mon. & Weds. | 10 a.m.-Noon
BS, with honors, Drake University
JD, summa cum laude, Northwestern University School of Law, Order of the Coif
FSA, Society of Actuaries
Scholarship | SSRN Publications | Presentations
Kathryn Kennedy joined The John Marshall Law School as a full-time faculty member after many years of private practice and as an adjunct professor specializing in employee benefits law. She had practiced with the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago and was an actuary with the actuarial consulting firm of Towers Perrin.
She became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 1976, two years after her graduation from Drake University. Due to her combined legal and actuarial background, she offers the law school a unique perspective in the area of employee benefits law. In 1998, she led the school's efforts to offer an LLM in Employee Benefits Law, the only one of its kind still in the nation. In 2005, the school expanded its offerings with a MS in Employee Benefits Law for non-attorney professionals. In 2006, she published a textbook, entitled Employee Benefits Law: Qualification and ERISA Requirements, as part of the Lexis/Nexis graduate tax series. The second edition of the textbook was published in 2012 to reflect the legislative changes of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
In 2009, Dean Kennedy was recognized as ASPPA's Educator of the Year, an award conferred upon by ASPPA to outstanding educators who have made significant contributions to retirement plan education. She is also a Fellow of The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (ACEBC).
Dean Kennedy has chaired the Center for Tax Law & Employee Benefits since 2001. Beginning in the fall of 2012, the Center will offer three LLM degrees – Tax Law, Employee Benefits, and Estate Planning – and two MS degrees – Tax Law and Employee Benefits. She served on the IRS's Advisory Council for Tax Exempt/Government Entities (known as the ACT) from 2009-2012 and has served on the U.S. Department of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council (2005-08). She is an active member of the Advisory Boards of Practicing Law Company and Drake University's National Advisory Council for the Actuarial Science Program. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on several occasions and has proposed legislation in the area of executive deferred compensation plans. She was the chair of the Distributions Subcommittee of the Employee Benefits Committee of the ABA Section of Taxation; was chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Employee Benefits Section Council; and was chair of the Chicago Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee.
Dean Kennedy is the primary faculty advisor for The John Marshall Law Review. She was named associate dean for advanced studies and research in 2007. She teaches Employee Benefits Law and Tax Law.
Scholarship
Employee Benefits Law: Qualification and ERISA Requirements (with Paul T. Schultz, III), LEXIS/NEXIS (2nd ed. 2012; 1st ed. 2006)
Employee Benefits Law: Qualification and ERISA Requirements: Teacher's Manual, LEXIS/NEXIS (2nd ed. 2012; 1st ed. 2007)
2011 Law Review Articles on Employee Benefits Issues You Should've Read (but Probably Didn't), forthcoming in 134 TAX NOTES (Mar. 2012)
IRAs, BNA Compensation Planning Journal, Portfolio 367 (7th ed. forthcoming 2013; 6th ed. 2008)
SEPs and SIMPLEs, BNA Compensation Planning Journal, Portfolio 368 (7th ed. forthcoming 2013; 6th ed. 2008; 5th ed. 2004)
The Use of Federal Law To Curb Executive Compensation: Lessons in Past Failures and Lessons for the Future, forthcoming LVII VILLANOVA L. REV. 3 (Spring 2012)
The IRS' Recent Uncertain Tax Positions Initiative: A Tangle of Accounting, Tax and Privilege Issues, 9 DePaul Bus. & Tax L. J. 401 (2011)
PPA New Benefits Restrictions under Final IRS and Proposed DOL Regulations, 130 Tax Notes No. 12 (2011)
PPA New Benefits Restrictions under Final IRS and Proposed DOL Regulations, 2011 NYU Rev. of Emp. Benefits & Exec. Comp. 11-1
Employee Benefits Law Review Articles You Need to Read, 130 Tax Notes 1198 (2011)
Conkright: A Conundrum for the Courts, An Opportunity for Congress," 2010 NYU Rev. of Emp. Benefits & Exec. Comp. 16-1
Conkright v. Frommert: The Supreme Court's Own Gobbleygook, 18 J. of Pension Benefits 10 (2010)
Excessive Executive Compensation: A Review of Prior Federal Tax and Other Short-Cuts Used to Curb Abuses, 10 Houston Bus. & Tax. L. J. 198 (2010)
Employee Benefits Law (ed.), ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law and BNA Books (2nd ed. 2010)(cum. supp. 2009).
PPA's New Benefit Restrictions for Defined Benefit Plans, 123 Tax Notes 583 (2009)
A Current Update of EPCRS Through Rev. Proc. 2008-50, 37 Tax Mgm't. Comp. Plan. J. No. 1 (2009)
The Demise of Defined Benefit Plans for Private Employers, 2009 NYC Rev. of Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation 4-1
The Demise of Defined Benefit Plans for Private Employers, 121 Tax Notes 179 (2008)
ERISA's Participant Benefit Statement Requirements: Current Rules Under PPA '06 and a Suggested Blueprint for Future Interpretations, 35 Tax Mgmt Comp Plann J. No. 10 (2007)
PPA '06 Makes IRA Rollovers More Attractive: Maybe It's Time to Switch to a Self-Directed IRA? Think Again!, 35 Tax Mgmt Comp Plann J No. 7 (2007)
Presentations
Moderator: ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, "Lifetime Income Options for Retirement Plans: Where Do We Go From Here?" (March 1, 2012)
Moderator: ABA Section of Taxation Midyear Meeting, "A Review of Pension Benefit Restrictions," ABA Distributions Subcommittee (Feb. 17, 2012)
Speaker: The John Marshall Law School Faculty Works-In-Progress Series, "Ten Law Review Articles on Employee Benefits You Should've Read (but Probably Didn't) in 2011," The John Marshall Law School (Feb. 2, 2012)
Speaker: 2011 ASPPA Annual Conference, "Lifetime Income Options for Defined Contribution Plans" (Oct. 25, 2011)
Speaker: Villanova Law Review Norman J. Shachoy Symposium, "Use of Federal Legislation to Curb Executive Compensation" (Sept. 23, 2011)
Moderator: 2011 Great Lakes Benefits Conference, "Defined Benefit Plans Dealing with Benefit Restrictions" and "Defined Benefit Plans: Current Guidance, Amendment Deadlines, and Breaking Developments" (June 2011)
Speaker: National Institute on ERISA Basics, "Minimum Standards for Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans, Part I and II," ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (May 18, 2011)
Moderator: ABA Section of Taxation Annual Meeting, "Rollovers as Business Startups (ROBS)," ABA Distributions Subcommittee (May 6, 2011)
Moderator: ABA Section of Taxation Midyear Meeting, "In-Plan Roth Conversions," ABA Distributions Subcommittee (Jan. 21, 2011)
Moderator: ABA Section of Taxation Joint Fall Meeting, "Lifetime Income Options for Defined Contribution Plans," ABA Distributions Subcommittee (Sept. 24, 2010)
Speaker: "Implications of Health Insurance Reform on ERISA Litigation," PLI (Sept. 15, 2010)
Speaker: The John Marshall Law School Faculty Works-In-Progress Series, "Conkright: A Conundrum for Future Courts, An Opportunity for Congress," The John Marshall Law School (Sept. 2010)
Keynote: 2010 Great Lakes Benefits Conference, "The ACT's Employee Plans Subcommittee Recommendations to the IRS regarding its Determination Letter Program" (June 16, 2010)
Speaker: 2010 Great Lakes Benefits Conference, "Plan Corrections: The Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System" (June 16, 2010)
Speaker: 2010 ACOPA Advanced Actuarial Conference, "Recent ERISA Court Cases of Interest to Actuaries" (June 10, 2010)
Speaker: National Institute on ERISA Basics, "Minimum Standards for Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans, Part I and II," ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (May 19, 2010)
Moderator: ABA Section of Taxation May Meeting, "Roth IRAs: Recharacterizations and Reconversions," ABA Distributions Subcommittee (May 7, 2010)
Moderator: ABA Section of Taxation Midyear Meeting, "Self Directed IRAs, Due Diligence Tips and Legal Red Flags," (Jan. 22, 2010)
Speaker: The Third Annual Symposium of the Houston Business and Tax Law Journal on Current Controversies in Executive Compensation, "Excessive Executive Compensation: Prior Federal Attempts to Curb Perceived Abuses" (Oct. 15, 2009)
Speaker: ABA Section of Taxation Joint Fall Meeting, "Roth Conversions: Let's Do the Math" (Sept. 25, 2009)
Speaker: "The Future of Retirement Benefits: Are There Alternatives to Traditional Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans and Do We Need Them?" ERIC Industry Committee Board of Directors Meeting (June 17, 2009)
Speaker: National Institute on ERISA Basics, "Minimum Standards for Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans, Part I and II," ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (June 10, 2009)
Moderator: "2009 Suspension of Minimum Distribution Requirements, Plan Amendments, Participant Consent and IRS Reporting Obligations" (May 2009)
Speaker: Western Pensions & Benefits Conference Los Angeles 2009 Spring Summit, "Change is Coming: What Benefit Practitioners Should Expect for 2009" (April 30, 2009)
Speaker: 52nd Annual Estate Planning Course, "Roth Conversions and Other Aspects Dealing with Retirement Assets in the Estate Plan," IICLE (April 21, 2009)
Speaker: ASPPA/IRS Great Lakes Benefits Conference, "AFTAP Certifications" and "EPCRS Update" (April 21, 2009)
Speaker: "Why Attorney Need to Understand Actuarial Certifications and Benefit Limitations in Defined Benefit Plans," CBA Employee Benefits Meeting (February 20, 2009)
Speaker: ASPPA Greater Cincinnati Are, "Change is Coming: What Benefit Practitioners Should Expect for 2009" (Jan. 20, 2009)
Speaker: ERISA Litigation Conference, "ERISA Preemption," ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (2009)
Speaker: ASPPA Cincinnati Pension Conference, "EPCRS Advanced Correction Methods" (Nov. 13-14, 2008)
Speaker: ASPPA Annual Conference, "What ERISA Fiduciaries Need to Know About Corrections and Settlements" and "Restricted Distributions under Section 436" (Oct. 19-22, 2008)
Speaker: Houston Business and Tax Law Journal's Third Annual Symposium, "Current Controversies in Executive Compensation" (2008)
Speaker: "Updates on ERISA Litigation," Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits (Sept. 25, 2008)
Speaker: National Institute on ERISA Basics, "Minimum Standards for Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans," ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (June 4-6, 2008)
Speaker: National Institute on ERISA Basics, "Minimum Standards for Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans, Part I and II," ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (June 2, 2008)
Speaker: 2008 Great Lakes Benefits Conference, "EPCRS Advanced Correction Methods" (April 3-4, 2008)
Speaker: "Recent Developments with Qualified Plans and IRA Distributions" and "The Minimum Distribution Rules," ISBA Trusts & Estates and Employee Benefits Sections (Feb. 29, 2008 and Mar. 7, 2008)
Speaker/Moderator: AALS Annual Meeting, "IRAs: Planning Distribution Strategies and Plan Investments," AALS Section on Employee Benefits (Jan. 3, 2008)
