Elizabeth McDermott, an associate in the ERISA & Employee Benefits practice, represents the interests of employees, retirees, plan participants and beneficiaries in ERISA class-action lawsuits across the country. Previously she was a Cohen Milstein Fellow working on matters spanning the antitrust, consumer protection, civil rights and employment, human rights, and securities practice groups.
Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Elizabeth was a law clerk for the Honorable Paula Xinis of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
While attending Boston University School of Law, Elizabeth was an executive editor of the Public Interest Law Journal.
Publications
- Mass & Cass: City Sanctioned Eighth Amendment Violations, 32 B.U. Pub. Int. L.J. 243 (2023)
Prior to attending law school, Elizabeth was a project manager at the Institute for Healthcare and Improvement. She was also a teacher, program administrator and board member of Bilingual Education for Central America (BECA).
Elizabeth is conversationally fluent in Spanish.
- District of Columbia
- Massachusetts
- Boston University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2023
- Vassar College, B.A., with honors, 2014
Law Clerk, the Hon. Paula Xinis, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland (2023 – 2024)
Past Cases
GWA, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Litigation
Andrew-Berry, et al. v. Weiss (D. Conn.): Cohen Milstein represents participants in the GWA, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan who allege that GWA, LLC and George A. Weiss breached their fiduciary duties and misused employee retirement plan assets to further their own pecuniary interest, in violation of ERISA. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that 100% of the Plan’s investments (all of which are 401(k) assets) were and continue to be invested in “The Weiss Funds,” which includes the company’s flagship hedge fund named the “Weiss Multi-Strategy Partners Ltd.” and the company’s mutual fund named the “Weiss Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund,” which generally “replicates” the hedge fund’s strategy. On May 30, 2025, the court granted preliminary approval of a $7.9 million settlement.