Biography

Ms. Soubly has represented employers, plans and fiduciaries for 25 years in ERISA litigation, litigation risk reduction, ERISA administrative proceedings, labor and employment litigation, agency proceedings, and appellate litigation. In private practice, she has represented such Fortune 500 and regional corporate clients as Allied-Signal Corporation, American Axle & Manufacturing, Chubb Insurance Group, Clear Channel Communications, Comerica Incorporated, Daimler Chrysler, Federal Express, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Goodrich Corporation, Henry Ford Health System, Home Depot Inc., IBM, MichCon, One Beacon Insurance, Pennzoil, Phillip Morris Incorporated, Shorebank Inc., Tecumseh Products Company, and United Air Lines, as well as several public sector clients and universities, including the University of Michigan.

She has extensive experience in ERISA class actions, including fiduciary breach litigation, retiree insurance litigation (involving both collectively bargained retirees and salaried retirees), cash balance plan litigation, and  ERISA §510 class litigation.  In proactive litigation avoidance, and with the unique vantage point of having served as both inside and outside counsel, she has reviewed, revised and designed early retirement incentive programs and other ERISA plans for force reductions, severance pay plans, ERISA welfare benefit plans, and executive compensation plans.  She has routinely counseled employers and plan administrators regarding benefit denials and plan procedures and has represented plan administrators during intraplan procedures.

From 1997-2000, Ms. Soubly served as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Litigation of Comerica Incorporated.  In that position, she was responsible for all of Comerica's litigation, domestic and international, with particular attention to high profile and/or high exposure matters.  As Deputy General Counsel, she focused on all facets of offensive and defensive litigation for Comerica, including employment and employee benefits litigation, class action litigation, commercial litigation, trust and breach of fiduciary duty litigation, lender liability and workout litigation, securities litigation, consumer litigation, NASD proceedings, premises liability litigation, and appellate litigation.  She also interfaced with various federal agencies on behalf of Comerica, including the Department of Labor.

Education

J.D., University of Michigan Law School, cum laude (1980)
Ph.D., Wayne State University, with English Honors and distinction (1981)
M.A., Wayne State University, with English Honors (1971)
B.A., Wayne State University, with English Honors, magna cum laude (1970)

Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

• Michigan

Courts

• United States Supreme Court
• U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan
• Various pro haec admissions in federal courts