Steptoe & Johnson Adds ERISA Attorney

Andrioff, who will work in the firm’s Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices brings more than 25 years of experience in the areas of employee benefits and executive compensation. She has advised corporate, tax-exempt and institutional fiduciary clients, and her work has included matters relating to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transactions; transactions involving employer securities, employee benefit plan design, administration, funding and correction; executive compensation, including severance arrangements, employment agreements, deferred compensation, equity-based arrangements, nonqualified retirement plans, and supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPS); mergers and acquisitions; and health and welfare plans and trusts. 

Andrioff has also counseled employers in the funding and administration of multiemployer pension and health and welfare plans. In addition to her law firm experience, Andrioff served as a principal at Deloitte Tax LLP.

“Joni brings a wealth of experience to the firm that will greatly enhance the capabilities we offer clients in retirement, welfare, and compensation arrangements,” says Phil West, chair of Steptoe.  “Her presence in our Chicago office will provide a natural bridge between the employee benefits and executive compensation capabilities we offer in both our D.C. and Los Angeles offices.”

Andrioff is ranked in the legal directory Chambers USA for her work in employee benefit and compensation matters. She has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Illinois Super Lawyers. Active in the legal community, Andrioff has served as the chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the American Bar Association’s Tax Section (2011-2012) and of the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (chair in 2007; member, 2003-2012). Earlier in her career, she served as a law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the 4^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Andrioff holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and was awarded a juris doctor with high honors from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.