Melanie Nussdorf

• mnussdorf@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Melanie Nussdorf is a partner in the Washington office of Steptoe, where she is a member of the Tax and Employee Benefits groups.

Her practice spans the entire range of employee benefits, from the tax-based rules for qualified pension plans, to fiduciary issues, welfare benefits, and plan termination. Ms. Nussdorf's particular focus over the last several years has been fiduciary issues, including prohibited transaction exemption questions under ERISA, especially in connection with financial products and services. Ms. Nussdorf represents a number of financial institutions including major banks, investment advisers, brokerage firms, and insurance companies. In addition, she has particular experience in all aspects of the plan termination process, including issues of employer liability for poorly funded plans terminating in or outside of a bankruptcy proceeding. She has done substantial work on ERISA issues relating to hedge funds and private equity vehicles. She also has substantial experience with the exemption and advisory opinion process under ERISA and has worked extensively on legislative issues related to ERISA.

Ms. Nussdorf was counsel for age and sex discrimination at the Department of Labor prior to serving as Executive Assistant to the Solicitor of Labor from 1977-81. During this period, she had significant oversight responsibility for the department's legal work under ERISA. From 1981-84, she served as Special Counsel at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Noteworthy

• Listed in Best Lawyers in America 1995-2013 for Employee Benefits and ERISA Law
• Received Star Individual Rating for DC: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation and ranked #1 for Nationwide: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2011-2012
• Ranked #1 for DC: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation and Nationwide: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2010
• Recommended for Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation by Legal 500 US 2012
• Recommended for Tax: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation by Legal 500 US 2011
• Recommended as a Leading Lawyer for Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits by Legal 500 US 2009
• Listed in Washington, DC Super Lawyers 2007-2013
• Listed in Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America 2011
• Listed as International Law Office Client Choice Award Guide 2010 winner for US Employment and Labor 2010

Select News & Events

• Washington, DC Super Lawyers Recognizes 42 Steptoe Attorneys
• “Other Regulatory Regimes Affecting the Investment Management Industry,” PLI’s Investment Management Institute 2013
• Steptoe Receives 77 Individual Mentions in Best Lawyers 2013
• Steptoe Receives 17 Practice, 47 Individual Mentions in Legal 500 US 2012
• Steptoe Receives 18 Practice, 57 Individual Mentions in Chambers USA 2012
• Washington, DC Super Lawyers Recognizes 23 Steptoe Partners
• Steptoe Receives 67 Individual Mentions from Best Lawyers
• "Pension Plan Investment: Current Perspectives," Practising Law Institute's Conference, April 5, 2011
• "ERISA Fiduciary Basics," Practising Law Institute's Conference, February 23, 2011
• "Investment Management Institute," Practising Law Institute's Conference, February 10, 2011
• "CFTC’s Proposed Business Conduct Standards for Swap Dealers: Costs and Consequences to Swap Dealers and Plans," Practising Law Institute's Teleconference, January 25, 2011
• "DOL’s Proposed Significant Expansion of the Fiduciary Definition," Practising Law Institute's Teleconference, November 19, 2010

Selected Publications

• Expanded Roth Conversion Opportunity for Retirement Plan Participants
  January 11, 2013
• ERISA Advisory - $36.9 Million Awarded in ERISA Class Action Challenging Investment Selection and Compensation Paid to 401(k) Plan Recordkeeper
  May 3, 2012
• ERISA Advisory - Department of Labor Releases 408(b)(2) Fee Disclosure Regulations
  March 9, 2012
• ERISA Advisory - CFTC Announces New Swap Rules
  February 2, 2012
• ERISA Advisory - Labor Department Issues Final Regulations Addressing Provision of Investment Advice to Participants and Beneficiaries of Self-Directed Individual Account Plans and IRAs
  October 31, 2011
• ERISA Advisory - Proposed Regulation Redefining Fiduciary
  November 5, 2010
• ERISA Advisory - ERISA Advisory Council Makes Stable Value Fund Recommendations to Labor Department
  November 17, 2009
• Melanie Nussdorf Quoted in Pensions & Investments about Revamped Rules for Offering Investment Advice
  May 4, 2009

More Publications »