Byrne Decker is a shareholder in the firm’s Portland, Maine office. With more than 31 years of experience, Byrne is a national leader in ERISA litigation and employee benefits litigation. He defends, on a nation-wide basis, benefits cases in both ERISA and non-ERISA contexts, including in particular, complex benefits cases and class actions. Byrne has appeared in all but a few of the federal district courts and circuit courts of appeals across the country. His active appellate practice includes published decisions on significant benefits issues in several circuit courts and he has collaborated on several briefs and petitions to the United States Supreme Court in important ERISA cases, including amicus curiae briefs such as Black & Decker v. Nord and Yates v. Hendon.
Byrne serves as national counsel to several major life and disability carriers. He consults with in-house and other outside counsel on litigation matters and advises in-house counsel and business clients on claims and policy issues. Byrne is a frequent speaker and writer on benefits and ERISA topics and is actively involved in leadership of DRI’s LHD/ERISA Committee, including serving as Committee Chair, Committee Vice-Chair, and Program Chair.
