M. Ellen Mondress
Ellen leads the firm's compliance and design practice. After working on employee benefits issues in the tax department of Deloitte beginning in 1987, in 1991 she entered into private practice to focus exclusively on employee benefits law. At Song Mondress, Ellen serves as lead transactional counsel for clients in a full spectrum of retirement plans, such as 401(k), 403(b), pension, annuity, money purchase, defined contribution, and deferred compensation plans; and of health and welfare plans, such as VEBA-funded, uninsured and insured plans. Her clients are in industries ranging from retail to construction, and include plans maintained by Fortune 50 and 500 companies, nonprofits, and regional Taft-Hartley boards of trustees. Ellen's work includes advising sponsors and fiduciaries in various business transactions and plan mergers and dispositions, and resolving fiduciary issues and investment issues (including employer stock, hedge funds, private equity funds, and collective bank funds). She advises on all laws that impact ERISA plans.
Areas of Practice
- ERISA and Tax Code Compliance
Bar Admissions
- Washington, 1986
- U.S. District Court Western District of Washington, 2004
Education
- University of Puget Sound School of Law, Tacoma, Washington
- J.D. (Magna Cum Laude) - 1986
- Law Review: University of Puget Sound Law Review, Associate Editor
- University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- B.A. - 1983
Published Works
- 401(k) Plan Changes in Response to Economic Turmoil, Western Pension & Benefits Conference, 2009
- 401(k) Plans in the Multiemployer Environment, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 2006
Classes/Seminars
- 401(k) Plans, Annual Benefits Conference of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 2006
Honors and Awards
- Hon. Vernon R. Pearson, Chief Justice, Washington Supreme Court, Judicial Law Clerk, 1986 - 1987
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Washington State Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
