Employee Benefits, Business and Civil Litigation
Silicon Valley Office
George M. Kraw is a founding member of the Kraw Law Group and specializes in the representation of Taft-Hartley benefit funds. He is a former union representative to the Advisory Committee of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. He belongs to the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists and is a former chair of the CEBS Committee of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
He frequently writes on employee benefit and other law related matters, and has been a contributor to Bloomberg BNA, the National Law Journal, Benefits Magazine, American Lawyer, Los Angeles Daily Journal, and the San Francisco Recorder, among other media. He is a member of the Pacific Media Workers Guild.
Mr. Kraw is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia. He received his Juris Degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He also holds a Masters Degree in History from Berkeley as well as a B.A. in History and Russian Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Employee Benefits
Silicon Valley Office
Lisa Schwantz is the managing principal of the Kraw Law Group and specializes in the representation of multiemployer benefit funds. She counsels benefit plans on all aspects of law, including mergers, plan design, regulatory compliance and financial and legal issues relating to plan investments. Ms. Schwantz has special expertise in the representation of plans in Internal Revenue Service audits and Department of Labor investigations, and has represented numerous clients in such matters. She also has expertise in advising and assisting with changes in plan service providers, and addressing record keeping and documentation issues that result from such changes.
Ms. Schwantz is a member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits’ Professionals Committee and was a presenter at the Foundation’s 60th Annual Benefits Conference in Boston. She graduated from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific and received her B.A. from University of Nevada, Reno.
Employee Benefits
Silicon Valley Office
Katherine McDonough is a principal of Kraw Law Group, and a member of its board of directors. She specializes in the representation of multiemployer benefit funds. Ms. McDonough counsels benefit plans on all aspects of law, including mergers, plan design, regulatory compliance, financial and legal issues relating to plan investments, and litigation matters. She has special expertise in complex withdrawal liability collection matters and representation of plans in Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor investigations, and has represented numerous clients in such matters. Ms. McDonough is a contributing author to the Withdrawal Liability chapter of the American Bar Association Employee Benefits Law treatise and has also authored articles in the National Law Journal and the New Jersey Law Journal. Ms. McDonough graduated Cum Laude from the Washington College of Law, American University. Prior to Joining the Kraw Law Group, Ms. McDonough practiced in Washington, where she represented international and local unions before boards of arbitration and federal district and appellate courts.
ERISA Litigation, Business Litigation
Silicon Valley Office
Mr. Korda is of counsel to the firm. His primary practice area is business litigation. He is admitted to practice in California, and has the following degrees:
He is a member of the American Bar Association, Santa Clara County Bar Association and Judge Pro Tem, Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Hastings College of the Law
Silicon Valley Office
Raphael Shannon Kraw has been representing Taft-Hartley benefit trusts and many other union–related organizations since 1978, with a focus on helping clients improve and protect benefits for working people. Her areas of expertise embrace all aspects of client entities’ structure and operations, and include; drafting trust and plan documents, ERISA qualified pension plans, withdrawal liability, and plan mergers and terminations, all federal and state law compliance issues for health and welfare plans, governmental agency investigations, audits, and litigation, benefit claims litigation, and fiduciary litigation both for plaintiffs and defendants. She has special expertise in dealing with the problems of financially troubled plans, and in addressing issues arising from the changes in plan providers.
Ms. Kraw spent her first 36 years of practice at McCarthy, Johnson & Miller Law Corp in San Francisco. She attended Hastings College of the Law where she was a Hastings Law Journal Editor, and a member of the Order of the Coif. She has been a regular contributing author and editor for the Bloomberg/BNA and ABA publications ERISA Litigation and Employee Benefits Law.
Multiemployer Benefit Funds
Juris Doctor – University of California, Hastings College of the Law;
Bachelor of Arts – Harvard University
Silicon Valley Office
Ms. McCormick specializes in the representation of multiemployer benefit funds. She counsels pension and health and welfare plans on the full scope of plan legal issues, including plan design, regulatory compliance, legal issues relating to plan investments, and litigation matters.
Before becoming of counsel to the firm, Ms. McCormick practiced for 20 years at McCarthy, Johnson & Miller Law Corp in San Francisco. She received her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law and graduated cum laude from Harvard University.
Multiemployer Benefit Funds
Silicon Valley Office
Mrs. Sorenson is an associate at Kraw Law Group and focuses on the representation of multiemployer benefit funds. She counsels pension and health and welfare plans on all aspects of law, including plan design, regulatory compliance, legal issues relating to plan investments, and litigation matters.
She received her J.D. from University of San Francisco School of Law and graduated cum laude from Santa Clara University.
Multiemployer Benefit Funds
Silicon Valley Office
Ms. Roselin is an associate at Kraw Law Group and focuses on representation of multiemployer benefit funds. She counsels pension and health plans on all aspects of law, including plan design, operational matters, regulatory compliance, and legal issues related to plan investments.
She received her J.D. from Whittier Law School, magna cum laude and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California, Santa Cruz. She is admitted to practice in California.
Multiemployer Benefit Funds
Graduated Cum Laude California Western School of Law;
Bachelor of Arts – University of California, San Diego
Jason J. Kennedy is Of Counsel at Kraw Law Group. He specializes in the representation of multiemployer benefit funds, including defined benefit pension funds and health funds. Mr. Kennedy represents several benefit plans as sole counsel and handles all of the plans’ legal matters, including drafting all plan documents and notices, regulatory compliance, financial and legal issues relating to plan investments, benefit litigation matters, and contribution collection matters. He has handed numerous complex withdrawal liability matters and other litigation in federal court. Mr. Kennedy graduated Cum Laude from California Western School of Law, and obtained a BA from University of California, San Diego.
Employee Benefits
San Diego County Office
Jamie Q. Baldwin is lead counsel to multiple national and regional Taft-Hartley benefit funds, advising them on all aspects of plan regulatory compliance and operations. She is a member of the Kraw Law Group board of directors and manages the firm’s San Diego office. Ms. Baldwin is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts (2003). She received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Iowa in 1998. Ms. Baldwin was admitted to the bar of the State of Massachusetts in 2003, and is currently admitted to practice before the courts of the State of California; the United States District Court, Southern and Central Districts of California; and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Employee Benefits
San Diego County Office
Valentina Mindirgasova represents Taft-Hartley funds in withdrawal liability matters and other litigation nationwide, and also advises benefit plans on compliance matters. She is a graduate of California Western School of Law (2010). She received her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2007. Ms. Mindirgasova is admitted to practice before the courts of the State of California; the United States District Court, Central District of California; and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Multiemployer Benefit Funds
San Diego County Office
Kerry K. Fennelly is an experienced employee benefits litigator who also advises benefit plans on regulatory compliance and operational matters. Ms. Fennelly is a member of the Kraw Law Group board of directors. She is a 2004 graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is admitted to practice before the courts of the State of California; the United States District Court, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Northern Districts of California; and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Multiemployer Benefit Funds
Silicon Valley Office
Mrs. Alvarez is an associate at Kraw Law Group and focuses on the representation of multiemployer benefit funds. She counsels pension and health and welfare plans on all aspects of law, including plan design, regulatory compliance, legal issues relating to plan investments, and litigation matters. Prior to joining Kraw Law Group, she practiced traditional labor law for a California state agency, where she investigated and litigated allegations of unfair labor practices under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act.
Mrs. Alvarez received her J.D. from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Davis. She is admitted to practice in California.
Multiemployer Benefit Funds
J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, Bachelor of Arts degree from University of San Francisco
Ms. Coughlan is an associate at Kraw Law Group and focuses on the representation of multiemployer benefit funds. She counsels pension and health and welfare plans on all aspects of law, including plan design, regulatory compliance, legal issues relating to plan investments, and litigation matters.
She received her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of San Francisco. She is admitted to practice in California.
Multiemployer Benefit Funds
J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, Bachelor of Science degree from Wagner College
Ms. Kiyota is an associate at Kraw Law Group and focuses on the representation of multiemployer benefit funds. She counsels pension and health and welfare plans on all aspects of law, including plan design, regulatory compliance, legal issues relating to plan investments, and litigation matters.
She received her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Wagner College. She is admitted to practice in California and Hawaii.
