Martina B. Sherman
Martina Sherman is a shareholder at DeBofsky Law where she represents individuals in ERISA and insurance benefit disputes. Ms. Sherman has experience in employment and Social Security law as well, which enables her to provide clients with a comprehensive approach to benefit problems. Ms. Sherman represents clients at all stages of litigation, from consultation and pre-suit appeal to the trial and appellate levels. She has extensive federal court experience and has argued successfully before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Sherman is a frequent speaker on employee benefits at national conferences of the American Bar Association (ABA), and she is a contributing author for the treatise, Employee Benefits Law, 4th Edition (BNA Books). She is a past co-chair of the “Liability Issues Unique to Welfare Plans” Sub-Committee of the ABA Employee Benefits Committee. In addition to her involvement in the ABA, Ms. Sherman is active in the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), having served as a chair of the CBA Young Lawyers Section Health & Hospital Law Committee and as a Legislative Liaison to the CBA Social Security Law Committee. In addition, she has written amicus briefs on behalf of United Policyholders in matters affecting consumers, including Montanile v. Bd. of Trustees of the Nat’l Elevator Indus. Health Benefit Plan, 136 S. Ct. 651 (2016) and Rochow v. Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 780 F.3d 364 (6th Cir. 2015) (en banc). She has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star every year since 2016.
Ms. Sherman is very active in civic and pro bono activities. She presently serves on the Diversity Committee of the ABA Employee Benefits Committee and volunteers with Equip for Equality, the protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities in Illinois. She also serves on the Pension Action Center Illinois Committee.
Areas of Practice
Bar Admissions
- Illinois, 2011
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 2011
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 2011
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2012
- U.S. Supreme Court, 2015
Education
- Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
- J.D. cum laude – 2011
- Honors: Labor & Employment Law Certificate
- Law Review: Chicago-Kent Law Review, Notes & Comments Editor, 2010 – 2011
- Columbia College, Columbia University, New York, New York
- B.A. – 2005
- Major: Political Science
Published Work
- Long Term Disability Claims: A Primer for Social Security Attorneys, The Federal Lawyer, 2015
- SCOTUS Revisits ERISA Reimbursement in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, American Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee Newsletter, Winter, 2015
- Sixth Circuit Determines that an Arbitrary and Capricious Denial of a Benefits Claim Cannot Support a Disgorgement of Profits Award under ERISA § 502(a)(3) , American Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee Newsletter, Summer 2015
- Sixth Circuit to Reconsider Whether the Denial of a Benefits Claim Can Support a Disgorgement of Profits Award under ERISA § 502(a)(3), American Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee Newsletter, Spring 2014
- Note, When a Door Closes, A Window Opens: Using Preemption to Challenge State Medicaid Cutbacks, 56 CHI.-KENT L. REV 925, 2011
Representative Cases
- Hennen v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 904 F.3d 532 (7th Cir. 2018)
- Ritacco v. Ret. Bd. of the Mun. Emples.’, Officers’, & Officials’ Annuity & Benefit Fund, 2016 IL App (1st) 153262-U, P2, 2016 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1935 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 2016)
- Alvarado v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., No. 14 CV 4717, 2016 WL 4678305 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 6, 2016)
- Fontaine v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 800 F.3d 883 (7th Cir. 2015)
- Halley v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 141 F.Supp.3d 855 (N.D. Ill. 2015)
- Hoyt v. Colvin, 553 Fed. Appx. 625 (7th Cir. 2014)
- Warner v. Unum Life Ins. Co., No. 12 C 02782, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178765 (N.D. Ill. 2014)
- Grant v. Std. Ins. Co., No. 11 CV 6454, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77940 (No. Dist. Ill. 2013)
- Borich v. Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., No. 12 C 734, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59674 (No. Dist. Ill. 2013)
Classes / Seminars
- “Benefit Claims,” Joint Committee on Employee Benefits ERISA Fiduciary Institute, American Bar Association, 2017 & 2019
- “Benefit Claims: Alternatives to Litigation,” Employee Benefits Committee Mid-Winter Meeting, American Bar Association, 2019
- “What Every Social Security Lawyer Should Know About LTD Claims,” Chicago Bar Association, 2018
- “ERISA Litigation Update,” Chicago Bar Association, 2018
- “Benefit Claims Update,” Employee Benefits Committee Mid-Winter Meeting, American Bar Association, 2015
- “Benefit Claims: Claims Review, Standard of Review, Discovery and Dispositive Motions,” National Institute on ERISA Litigation, American Bar Association, 2015
- “Benefit Claims: Administrative Procedures,” National Institute on ERISA Basics, American Bar Association, 2014
Honors & Awards
- Selected to Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2016 – 2020
- Leading Lawyers, Emerging Lawyers, 2017 – 2019
Professional Associations & Memberships
- American Bar Association, 2011 – Present
- Chicago Bar Association, 2011 – Present
- Federal Bar Association, 2011 – Present
Past Employment Positions
- Daley, DeBofsky & Bryant, P.C., Associate Attorney, 2011 – 2013
Pro Bono Activities
- Equip for Equality Young Professionals Board, 2015 – Present
- United Policyholders Amicus Contributor, 2012 – Present