US Department of Labor obtains consent order against retirement plan fiduciaries of defunct Chicago law firm for failing to distribute $6.4M in assets

CHICAGO -Following a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Labor, a defunct Chicago law firm's retirement plan distributed $6,498,858 in retirement plan assets to 40 employees. The plan's fiduciaries failed to properly terminate the plan and disburse those funds as required by law.

On Aug. 18, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, entered a consent order resolving the department's claims against the McCullough, Campbell & Lane LLP, and the firm's capital partners David L. Joslyn, John W. McCullough, F. Dennis Nelson, and Paul S. Turner. The department alleged that the defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to follow a 2019 partnership resolution. The resolution required them to terminate the firm's retirement plan and distribute the plan's assets to employees.

The defendants have provided proof that plan's assets were distributed to participants, except for approximately $13,861 in the employer-level plan accounts. The consent order requires the plan's recordkeeper to distribute those funds to its participants and to terminate the plan.

"After their law firm closed, Turner, McCullough, Nelson, and Joslyn failed to provide employees with their promised retirement benefits," said Employee Benefits Security Administration Regional Director Kelli Hammerl in Chicago. "The Department of Labor helped participants gain access to their retirement savings."

The order permanently bars Turner, McCullough, Nelson, and Joslyn from serving as fiduciaries or service providers for any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan. The plan transferred account balances belonging to plan participants it could not locate to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Missing Participants Program .

Employers can get help complying with the law through EBSA's correction programs, which includes the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program. The VFCP allows plan officials to correct violations and avoid excise taxes for prohibited transactions.

Employers and workers can contact EBSA at askebsa.dol.gov or call 866-444-3272 toll-free for help with private sector job-based retirement and health plans.