Jennifer E. Eller

“I have always felt as though I am being set up to succeed here,” responds Jenny Eller, when asked what it’s like to work with her more senior colleagues at Groom.  “I am challenged, but not crushed or overwhelmed.  I can always see the path in front of me—I can see how my professional growth is unfolding.”

Jenny has benefited from Groom’s approach to mentoring since 1998, when she worked as a law clerk at the firm while attending Georgetown University Law Center at night.  After she earned her degree in 2000, she knew that Groom would be the ideal place to begin her career, and in her five years as an attorney at the firm she has not been disappointed, especially when it comes to Groom’s commitment to establishing substantive relationships with clients.  “One thing I’ve learned here is that clients are ultimately just people—very interesting and very real,” she comments.  “They like to talk about their kids or their golf game or their weekend and they like to hear about yours.”  But while Jenny appreciates the personal dimensions of her work, she also knows that Groom is a “thinking person’s” law firm where nationally recognized experts in their field thrash out tough problems in a workplace that demands dynamic interaction.  “The thing about Groom is that you have to think critically and explain why you think what you think,” she says.  “You can’t just smile and nod.  You have to understand what’s going on and that means you have to ask questions.  I’ve learned that it’s smart to ask questions and dumb not to.”

Jenny asks the tough questions and does the smart work for clients who need assistance with fiduciary issues, particularly the complex challenges that arise in the investment of  ERISA plan assets.  As the lead negotiator and legal adviser for several clients seeking to obtain investment management services for ERISA plans and for private foundations, she has become notably well-versed in ERISA's legal requirements for investing plan assets.  Her experience has also taught her a great deal about the strengths and weaknesses of many of the myriad of investment vehicles available to plan investors.

In addition to investment issues, Jenny regularly advises clients on plan administration issues such as the proper allocation of plan expenses.  Jenny's work with plan sponsors and fiduciaries enhances and is enhanced by her work with banks, thrifts, insurance companies, and service providers on the creation and operation of financial products including collective investment vehicles.  This product-side experience has given her a solid understanding of the registration requirements and exemptions available to collective investment vehicles in which ERISA plans may invest, and of the need to structure financial products with ERISA's fiduciary requirements and prohibited transaction rules in mind.  She augments her work with her clients by speaking regularly on these issues. 

Jenny’s involvement in multi-dimensional investment projects has enabled her to develop considerable in-depth technical expertise in her field—and a comparably broad perspective on what it means to practice law.  “I know that I’ll never have a memo sitting around that addresses every single legal situation my clients find themselves in,” she says.  “There is no single answer or approach to a legal question—every attorney will approach the question in a way that reflects his or her previous experience and knowledge of the law.”

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