Ryan J. Barbur

Ryan protects the retirement and healthcare security of union members by representing Taft‑Hartley funds, labor unions and employees with respect to benefits matters and bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the firm’s employee benefits practice group, Ryan has served as counsel to trustees of multi‑billion dollar Taft‑Hartley employee welfare benefit and pension plans, counseled unions on internal employee benefits matters, helped to establish and served as counsel to an education and training fund, served as primary counsel for a defined benefit pension plan and served as counsel to union representatives on defined contribution retirement plan committees. He has also worked in close concert with Taft‑Hartley fund staff to enforce ERISA contribution and withdrawal liability obligations using a wide variety of methods and tactics, including arbitration, litigation, negotiation, asset sales, successor and joint employer liability and obtaining secured interests in employer assets. Ryan has also helped labor unions and Taft-Hartley benefit and pension plans navigate the difficult landscape of employer bankruptcies.