Amy Blaisdell has been a dedicated member of the firm’s management team for more than two decades. She currently leads the firm’s Health Care Industry Group and has previously served as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and Practice Group Leader of the Employment and Labor Practice Group.

All the while, Amy has led a robust Employment and Labor practice, having been specifically recognized as a Chambers rated attorney in the area of Labor and Employment Law for the last five years. Amy was also named as Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year for Employment Law in the St. Louis area for 2022 and has been ranked as one of The Best Lawyers in America since 2016.

Amy focuses her practice on highly regulated industries. Understanding the specific regulatory framework in which her clients operate enables her to provide comprehensive guidance to both prevent litigation and nimbly navigate the courtroom or arbitration setting when litigation or claims are filed. She has successfully tried jury trials and arbitrations to conclusion.

Over the course of more than two decades, Amy has also conducted and/or assisted clients in conducting hundreds of investigations into alleged violations of federal and state laws for non-profit and for profit organizations. Amy also provides training on compliance investigations and practical day-to-day human resources and employee benefits advice.

As part of her extensive representation of health care and non-profit organizations, Amy has represented employers and plan sponsors nationwide in the defense of employment and employee benefits litigation, including in the United States Supreme Court. Amy has defended hundreds of ERISA lawsuits, including class actions, alleging wrongful denial of ERISA benefits, breach of fiduciary duty, Mental Health Parity Act violations, and ERISA penalty claims among others. She has substantial experience helping employers and plan sponsors navigate the complexities relating to transgender benefits. 

In her securities practice, Amy has defended nationwide class actions filed against brokerage firms involving wage and hour matters. She also regularly defends brokerage firms in arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, including claims alleging wrongful termination of brokers and Form U5 defamation.

Honors & Awards

• Chambers USA, Labor & Employment, 2018-2022
• Benchmark Litigation, Labor & Employment Star, 2018-2020
• The Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law – Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2016-2023; St. Louis area Employment Law Lawyer of the Year, 2022
• Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, Employment & Labor, 2010-2011
• Missouri Lawyers Weekly, "Up & Coming," 2009

Representative Matters

• Represented Advocate Health Care Network before the U.S. Supreme Court in Advocate Health Care Network et al. v. Stapleton et al., a high-profile case involving the interpretation of ERISA’s “church plan” definition. The case resulted in a unanimous June 5, 2017, decision in favor of Advocate and two other religiously affiliated hospitals.
• Defending a religious health care network and employees in a putative class action lawsuit challenging the pension plan's status as a church plan exempt from ERISA.
• Defended a health care network in two putative class action lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri alleging failure to pay for overtime under federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Missouri law. The cases were resolved on favorable terms for client through settlement.
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of an long-term disability plans in multiple lawsuits alleging wrongful denial of benefits under ERISA.
• Defended a country club and individual club members against ERISA claims for benefits, breach of fiduciary duty, and interference with protected rights, and multiple state law claims. Obtained summary judgment in all seven counts based on the ultimate finding that a deferred compensation plan and an employment agreement plan were “top-hat” plans and, thus, not subject to ERISA.

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