Mr. Sommers is a 1970 graduate of Loyola Law School. From 1971 to 1972, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable John D. Ford in the California Court of Appeal.

Mr. Sommers leads our employee benefits department and is a widely recognized specialist in ERISA and employee benefits law. His expertise includes COBRA, HIPAA, and other state and federal statutes regulating employee benefit plans. He represents Taft-Hartley trust funds on a wide assortment of matters, including statutory and regulatory compliance, fiduciary compliance, plan and trust agreement drafting, Internal Revenue Service and DOL investigative audits, ERISA litigation, and drafting of agreements with banks, investment managers, health care providers, third party administrators, consultants, and other plan providers. Mr. Sommers also has experience representing benefit plans in mergers, terminations, and mass withdrawals. Clients include defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans, welfare plans, apprenticeship plans, and scholarship funds. He has been listed in the publication "The Best Lawyers in America." In 2005, he was named a "Southern California Super Lawyer" by Los Angeles Magazine. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the American Bar Association.