Teresa Renaker is a founding partner in the firm. She has focused on representing plaintiffs in employee benefits matters for 25 years and litigates cases nationwide. Under ERISA, which governs employee benefits for employees of private companies, Teresa handles individual, multi-plaintiff, and class actions, including claims for benefits and breach of fiduciary duty.
Teresa also represents clients in claims under state and federal government employee benefits programs, and in state-law malpractice claims against service providers to employee benefits plans.
Teresa’s publications include Ch. 8, “Employee Benefits” in California Domestic Partnerships and Same-Sex Marriage (CEB); Ch. 9, “Employee Welfare and Other Nonpension Benefits” in Dividing Pensions and Other Employee Benefits in California Divorces (CEB); and numerous articles and conference papers. She has served as co-counsel for amici curiae in four United States Supreme Court ERISA cases.
Prior to founding Renaker Hasselman Scott LLP, now Renaker Scott LLP, Teresa was an associate attorney and then a shareholder at a national employee benefits and employment law firm and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Irma E. Gonzalez of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Significant cases:
- Bafford v. Northrop Grumman Corp., 994 F.3d 1020 (9th Cir. 2021)
- Reed v. KRON/IBEW Local 45 Pension Plan, 770 Fed. Appx. 374, 2019 WL 2145652 (9th Cir. 2019)
- Paulsen v. CNF Inc., 559 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2009)
- Vaughn v. Bay Environmental Management, Inc., 567 F.3d 1021 (9th Cir. 2009)
- Barling v. UEBT Retiree Health Plan, 145 F. Supp. 3d 890 (N.D. Cal. 2015)
- McVey v. McVey, 26 F. Supp. 3d 980 (C.D. Cal. 2014)
- Cozen O’Connor, P.C. v. Tobits, 2013 WL 3878688 (E.D. Pa. July 29, 2013)
- Taylor v. ANB Bancshares, Inc., 2010 WL 4054362 (W.D. Ark. Sept. 20, 2010); 2010 WL 4627672 (W.D. Ark. Nov. 4, 2010)
- Lively v. Dynegy, Inc., 2007 WL 685861 (S.D. Ill. Mar. 2, 2007), and 420 F. Supp. 2d 949 (S.D. Ill. 2006)