Angel represents plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and trustees in ERISA class action and single plaintiff lawsuits nationwide. She has a broad range of experience in employee benefits law and fiduciary breach matters.
Angel has counseled and defended lawsuits involving all types of retirement plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, multiemployer plans, church and governmental plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), executive compensation plans, and health and welfare plans. Her extensive litigation experience includes defending complex class actions involving management and recordkeeping fees, investment of plan assets, 401(k) fee claims, employee stock valuation, inclusion of employer stock in retirement plans, executive compensation arrangements, and disability claims. Angel has defended clients in employee benefits and ERISA cases in all stages of litigation in state and federal courts, and before arbitration panels and administrative agencies across the nation.
Along with defending her clients in litigation, Angel counsels public and private employers and non-profit organizations on a variety of issues, including those related to fiduciary responsibility, prohibited transactions, benefit claims, disclosure obligations, and qualified domestic relations orders. She also represents plan fiduciaries in Department of Labor investigations.
Leveraging her legal expertise and strong business acumen, Angel offers pragmatic counsel to clients, fostering an environment that supports smooth business operations while concurrently reducing the requirement for potentially unnecessary litigation.
Angel is a frequent speaker on ERISA litigation, fiduciary issues, and benefits claims administration, including for the American Bar Association. She has received and has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” by the Northern California Super Lawyers publication since 2019 and received the 2021 Minority Bar Coalition Unity Award. Angel has also been recognized in Best Lawyers® in America for ERISA Litigation for 2025.
Angel is admitted to practice in California and Michigan. She is also fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese.
Speaking Engagements & Presentations
- “Benefit Claims: Part I – Administrative Procedures and Part II – Litigation Overview”, American Bar Association’s ERISA Basics Conference, October 2023
- “Litigation Update”, American Bar Association’s Fall Tax Meeting, October 2023
- “Lessons Learned from ERISA Litigation: Do’s and Don’ts for Service Providers and Plan Sponsors”, Western Pension & Benefits Council, Webinar, September 2023
- “Employee Benefits Litigation”, American Bar Association’s Tax Meeting, May 2023
- “The End of the COVID-19 Emergency Declarations”, American Bar Association, Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, Webinar, March 2023
- “Understanding the Impact of Hughes v. Northwestern University”, American Bar Association’s Tax Meeting, May 2022
- “Defending ERISA Class Actions Amid an Evolving Litigation Landscape: Best Practices for Counsel and Fiduciaries”, Strafford Webinar, August 2021
- “Hot Topics in Health and Welfare Plan Litigation”, American Bar Association, Joint Committee on Employee Benefits’ Conference, February 2021
- “ERISA Litigation Update: Recent ERISA Lawsuits and Their Impact on Plan Fiduciaries and Service Providers”, Western Pension of Benefits Council, Webinar, March 2021
- “Pension Regulatory Overview” and “Retaining Diverse Talent”, American Bar Association, Employee Benefits Committee, Midwinter Conference, February 2021
- “Administering Benefits Claims: Avoiding Mishaps and Litigation, Compliance Challenges for ERISA Counsel,” Strafford Webinars, February 2020
Publications
- “Long-Anticipated Supreme Court Decision on Excessive Fee Pleadings Standards Sends Case Back to the Seventh Circuit — Hughes v. Northwestern University”, February 2022
- “The Importance of Including Exhaustion Requirements in Plan Documents: Taking a Closer Look at the Sixth Circuit’s Decision in Wallace v. Oakwood Healthcare, Inc.”,August 2020
- “The Supreme Court’s Surprising Decision to Vacate and Remand Jander v. Retirement Plans Committee of IBM,” 401(k) Advisor: The Insider’s Guide to Plan Design, Administration, Funding & Compliance (a Wolters Kluwer publication), March 2020
- “Arbitration Clause: Include or Not?,” 401(k) Advisor: The Insider’s Guide to Plan Design, Administration, Funding & Compliance (a Wolters Kluwer publication), December 2019
- “Taking a Closer Look at the Latest Wave of Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Equivalence Lawsuits,” 401(k) Advisor, October 2019
- “The Two Year Wait Continues: How USC’s Attempt to Compel Arbitration Fails Before the Ninth Circuit, but Hope Remains for An Appeal to the Supreme Court,” ABA Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation, 2019
- “Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Equivalence Litigation — A Formidable Threat or An Unfounded Theory?, August 2019
- “New Section 83(i) of the Internal Revenue Code — Qualified Equity Grant Programs Permit Employees to Elect to Defer Income Taxes on Stock Options or RSUs”, January 2018
- “Case Update: Ninth Circuit Revisits Tibble v. Edison International”, April 2016
- “Buyers Beware! Ninth Circuit Holds that a Company May Be Subject to Withdrawal Liability as a Successor Employer under the ‘Successorship Doctrine’”, October 2015
- Chapter 14, Liability Issues Unique to Welfare Plans, Employee Benefits Law (BNA), 2014 (Contributing Author)
- “Tibble v. Edison International: What Does it Mean For Plan Fiduciaries?,” Conferno magazine, Vol. 3, 2013
- Chapter 11, ERISA Preemption and Effect on Other Laws, Employee Benefits Law (BNA), 2008-2010 (Contributing Author)
ARTICLES AND UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
- Long-Anticipated Supreme Court Decision on Excessive Fee Pleadings Standards Sends Case Back to the Seventh Circuit — Hughes v. Northwestern University
- The Importance of Including Exhaustion Requirements in Plan Documents: Taking a Closer Look at the Sixth Circuit’s Decision in Wallace v. Oakwood Healthcare, Inc.
- Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Equivalence Litigation — A Formidable Threat or An Unfounded Theory?
- The Saga Continues: An Update on University Plan Lawsuits with NYU’s Victory at Trial
- New Section 83(i) of the Internal Revenue Code — Qualified Equity Grant Programs Permit Employees to Elect to Defer Income Taxes on Stock Options or RSUs
- Case Update: Ninth Circuit Revisits Tibble v. Edison International
- Buyers Beware! Ninth Circuit Holds that a Company May Be Subject to Withdrawal Liability as a Successor Employer under the “Successorship Doctrine”
RECENT PRESENTATIONS
