Amanda S. Amert

Prior to joining Willkie, Amanda was a partner at another major law firm where she was Chair of the ERISA Litigation Practice and a co-chair of the firm’s Women’s Forum.

• Chambers USA ERISA Litigation (Nationwide) (since 2018)
• Chicago Debates - 25 of 25 Influencers List (2022) 
  
• Crain’s Chicago Business' Notable Women in Law (2022)
  
• Crain’s Chicago Business' Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting and Law (2022)
  
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America (2024)
• Legal 500 Labor and Employment - ERISA Litigation (since 2016)
• Best Lawyers in America – Litigation - ERISA (since 2023)
  
• Best Lawyers in America – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (since 2023)
  
• Law360 "MVP" -  Benefits (ERISA)
  
• Law360 “Rising Legal Star” ERISA Litigation
  
   

Amanda is vice chair of the board of the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services of Chicago, one of the first organizations in the United States to provide legal services regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.

She is a former longtime board member of Chicago Debates, whose mission is to advance the academic achievement and life success of Chicago’s urban youth through academic debate.  Amanda is an alum of Leadership Greater Chicago, a 30-year-old non-profit organization that cultivates Chicago’s business, public and civic leaders through a deeper understanding of the issues facing the Chicago community.

Publications

• Co-Author, “ERISA Benefits Litigation Answer Book,” Practising Law Institute, November 2022
• Co-Author, “Early Returns on Actuarial Equivalence Cases,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Winter 2019
• Co-Author, “Everything Old is New Again: Stock Drop Lawsuits on the Rise,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Summer 2019
• Co-Author, “Drawing the Line Between Possible and Plausible in Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Spring 2019
• Co-Author, “Fee Awards Under ERISA – The Long and Winding Road to ‘Some Success on the Merits,’” Employee Relations Law Journal, Autumn 2018
• Co-Author, “New Plaintiffs’ Firms Bring Increased ERISA Litigation Risks for Employers,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Summer 2018
• Co-Author, “What Happens After Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Stemming from Denials of Benefits Survive a Motion to Dismiss,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Spring 2018
• Co-Author, “Equitable Relief under ERISA Following Amara,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Winter 2017
• Co-Author, “The Upward Trend in ERISA Class Action Class Action Settlements,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Autumn 2017
• Co-Author, “Cert Denial in Carolinas Electrical Workers Retirement Plan a Win for ERISA Plan Service Providers,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Summer 2017
• Co-Author, “A Deepening Split: Enforceability of Venue Selection Clauses Under ERISA,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Spring 2017
• Co-Author, “A Cautionary Note on Venue Selection Clauses in ERISA Plans,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Winter 2016
• Co-Author, “Providers Beware: Failure to Keep Track Means You Have to Pay It Back,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Autumn 2016
• Co-Author, “When the Shoe Doesn’t Fit: Provider-Plaintiffs’ Standing in the Face of Anti-Assignment Clauses,” Employee Relations Law Journal, May 9, 2016
• Co-Author, “Will the Duty to Monitor Erode ERISA’s Limitations Provisions?” Employee Relations Law Journal, Spring 2016
• Co-Author, “The ERISA Trifecta: Injury, Standing, and Equitable Relief,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Winter 2015
• Co-Author, “When Is a Church Not a Church?” Employee Relations Law Journal, Autumn 2015
• Co-Author, “A Farewell to Yard-Man,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Summer 2015
• Co-Author, “Perez v. Bruister: An Appraisal,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Spring 2015

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, Benefits Briefing: Recent Litigation Affecting Plan Sponsors Webinar, The American Benefits Council, August 8, 2017
• Co-Chair, 14th National Forum on ERISA Litigation, American Conference Institute, March 1, 2017
• Co-Chair, American Conference Institute's 11th National Forum on ERISA Litigation, March 1, 2016