Chicago Law Firm Fiduciaries Barred After $6.4M Retirement Fund Delay
Four partners of defunct McCullough, Campbell & Lane face permanent ERISA ban after failing to distribute retirement assets to 40 employees.
A federal court has ordered the fiduciaries of a defunct Chicago law firm to complete distribution of roughly $6.5 million in retirement assets to former employees, following a U.S. Department of Labor complaint alleging years of inaction after the firm's closure.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a consent order on Aug. 18, 2026, resolving claims against McCullough, Campbell & Lane LLP and four of its capital partners — David L. Joslyn, John W. McCullough, F. Dennis Nelson, and Paul S. Turner. Federal investigators found the partners had ignored a 2019 partnership resolution that directed them to terminate the firm's retirement plan and disburse holdings to 40 eligible participants, a step required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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By the time the consent order was entered, the defendants had provided documentation showing the bulk of the $6,498,858 had reached participants. Roughly $13,861 remaining in employer-level accounts is still subject to distribution, which the consent order now compels the plan's recordkeeper to complete before formally terminating the plan. Funds belonging to participants who could not be located were transferred to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Missing Participants Program.
All four partners are permanently barred from serving as fiduciaries or service providers for any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan. Kelli Hammerl, regional director of the Employee Benefits Security Administration in Chicago, said the department's intervention was necessary to ensure workers received retirement savings they had been promised. The case underscores the legal obligations that remain in force for plan administrators even after a business ceases operations.
Employers seeking guidance on retirement plan compliance can contact EBSA through askebsa.dol.gov or by calling 866-444-3272. The agency's Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program offers a pathway for plan officials to address violations and avoid excise taxes on prohibited transactions. Continue reading at DOL News Releases and Briefs.
