Overview

Emily Kile-Maxwell litigates complex commercial and employee benefits (ERISA) disputes through all phases of litigation, including on appeal.

Employee Benefits Disputes

Emily represents commercial clients, benefit plans and plan fiduciaries, third-party administrators, and insurance companies in disputes and litigation involving:

  • Denials of benefits, including life, health, disability and pension benefits
  • Provider disputes and network agreements
  • Prohibited transactions
  • Breaches of fiduciary duty and co-fiduciary liability
  • Employee pension and welfare plans
  • Multiemployer pension and welfare plans, including withdrawal liability
  • Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
  • Discovery disputes
  • Claims for attorneys’ fees under ERISA

Employee Benefits Advice

Emily advises clients on benefit claim administration, plan administration and plan design.

Commercial Litigation

Emily represents a wide range of commercial clients in breach of contract, tort and trade secrets disputes, including class actions. She has extensive experience navigating discovery disputes in federal court, including disputes involving fee-shifting and other discovery sanctions. Emily also regularly counsels clients regarding nonparty discovery obligations and enforcement mechanisms.

Appellate Litigation

Emily regularly appears in federal and state appellate courts to advocate for clients on appeal.

Prior Experience

Before joining the firm, Emily served as a law clerk for the Honorable Kenneth F. Ripple of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Related Industries

Credentials

Bar Admissions

Indiana

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Clerkships

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Hon. Kenneth F. Ripple, 2017-2018

Education

Indiana University Maurer School of Law
J.D. magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, Indiana Law Journal (senior managing editor) (2017)

Butler University
B.A. in English Literature, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa (2014)

Insights & Events

Other Perspectives
  • DOL Fiduciary Shift Could Apply During Long Litigation Battle
    ThinkAdvisor, Mar. 19, 2024
  • Appellate Civil Case Law Update
    Co-author with Brian Paul, Res Gestae, April 2020
  • Experiential Education and Access-to-Justice within U.S. Law Schools: Designing and Evaluating an Access-to-Justice Service Learning Program Within the First-Year Curriculum
    7 Ind. J.L. & Soc. Equality 88 (2019)
  • Executive Branch Fact Deference as a Separation of Powers Principle
    92 Ind. L.J. 1635 (2017)
  • Appellate Civil Case Law Update
    Co-author with Jane Dall Wilson, Res Gestae, September 2016
     

Leadership & Community

Professional Associations

  • Indiana State Bar Association
  • Indianapolis Bar Association
  • Seventh Circuit Bar Association
  • Young Professionals of Central Indiana

Civic Activities

  • Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, Delta Chapter — Advisory Board
  • Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, Mu Chapter — House Board

Honors

  • Faegre Baker Daniels — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2018-19