Brian J. Dougherty

Brian J. Dougherty passed away in 2023 at age 67. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (the “College”) in 2005.

Brian graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Mathematics from Bucknell University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1977. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in Boston, Massachusetts in 1980.

Brian began his career as a labor and employment attorney in Pittsburgh where he worked for Thorp, Reed & Armstrong. In 1990, he joined the Philadelphia office of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius where he became a partner. In 2006, he joined Post & Schell as a partner. He returned to Morgan Lewis in 2010 and continued with the firm as a partner until his retirement in September 2021. He practiced at the highest levels of the legal profession in the employee benefits and executive compensation practice areas with particular focus on design, compliance, and counseling relating to qualified and nonqualified retirement arrangements, executive compensation plans, employment agreements, plan governance, and other fiduciary issues.

During his distinguished career, Brian was nationally recognized for his knowledge, skill, and leadership in his highly technical field of expertise. Brian’s colleagues remember him as a smart and trusted advisor to major U.S. and international employers. Other lawyers sought him out for his experience, careful analysis, and advice on complicated matters. Those who knew him well remarked that he had an encyclopedic knowledge of qualified plan rules, sound judgment, remarkable organizational abilities, and took great pride in the quality of his work.

Brian volunteered a generous amount of his time to the advancement of employee benefits and employment law. He was an active participant in the Employee Benefits Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Labor and Employment Law and was as a member of the Board of Senior Editors for the Employee Benefits Law publication of the Bureau of National Affairs (“BNA”) (part of Bloomberg, L.P. and later known as the Bloomberg Industry Group).

Brian was active in service to the College. He was a member of the College Board of Governors from 2014 to 2020, chair of the College Writing Competition Committee from 2014 to 2019, and a member of the Committee from 2019 until his passing. He was recognized as someone who asked insightful questions while exemplifying the collegial spirit of the College Board. When he stepped down as chair of the College Writing Committee, he passed along a smooth-running operation which served as a model for future successions.

On a personal level, Brian’s friends found him to be fun, witty, wise, loyal, generous, and genuinely kind. He was always just a phone call or quick cup of coffee away when needed.

Photo Source: The Decade Book, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel 2000-2010