Jennafer Tryck is a partner in the Orange County office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the Firm’s Litigation, ERISA Litigation, Labor and Employment, Insurance and Reinsurance, and Class Actions practice groups. Her practice focuses on complex ERISA and employee-benefits litigation, with particular emphasis on class actions involving retirement and health plans.
Jennafer represents plan sponsors, fiduciaries, insurers, and other benefits stakeholders in high-stakes disputes in trial and appellate courts nationwide. She has substantial experience defending claims involving alleged fiduciary breaches and prohibited transactions, investment performance and plan fees, actuarial equivalence and pension-benefit calculations, tobacco surcharges and wellness programs, 401(k) plan forfeitures, and health-plan coverage and reimbursement decisions. She also handles single-plaintiff benefits disputes and other litigation involving executive compensation and employee benefit arrangements.
In addition to litigation, Jennafer regularly advises clients on reducing litigation risk associated with ERISA and non-ERISA benefit plans. She works closely with in-house legal and benefits teams on emerging litigation theories, plan administration and communications, pre-litigation disputes, and strategic responses to new filings and regulatory developments. Her practice spans a range of industries, including health care, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, technology, and higher education.
Jennafer is recognized as a Next Generation Partner for ERISA litigation by The Legal 500. The Best Lawyers in America has recognized her as “One to Watch” in Commercial Litigation (2021-2026) and Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2026). She is also a frequent author and speaker on emerging ERISA litigation issues and is a principal contributor to Gibson Dunn’s quarterly ERISA Litigation Update.
Select Representative Matters
- Helped secure a published Fourth Circuit decision reversing and vacating certification of a mandatory class in an ERISA fiduciary-breach action challenging investment options in a defined-contribution plan.
- Defend a major employer in a nationwide class action challenging the actuarial assumptions used to calculate alternative forms of pension benefits, including extensive fact and expert discovery and class-certification proceedings.
- Help lead the defense of a national health insurer in multiple putative nationwide class actions challenging coverage, reimbursement, and benefit-administration decisions for ERISA-governed health plans, including class-certification and extensive discovery proceedings.
- Secured denial of class certification in a nationwide health-benefits class action, followed by denial of reconsideration and Rule 23(f) review.
- Obtained transfer of an ERISA tobacco-surcharge class action to the client’s home forum and, on a subsequent motion to dismiss, dismissal with prejudice of the plaintiffs’ lead claim and dismissal of their request for prospective relief.
- Secured complete dismissal, with prejudice, of claims in an ERISA excessive-fee fiduciary-breach class action brought against an outpatient surgical care company.
- Successfully struck plaintiffs’ damages experts and jury demand, and obtained dismissal of multiple claims and thirteen named defendants, in an ERISA fiduciary-breach class action brought against a leading private university.
- Represent major employers in single-plaintiff and class-action disputes involving pension and 401(k) plan administration, benefit calculations, subrogation and reimbursement, and other retirement and health-plan issues.
Thought Leadership
Jennafer regularly writes and speaks on developments affecting ERISA litigation. Her recent work has addressed prohibited-transaction pleading standards, actuarial-equivalence claims, 401(k) forfeiture litigation, tobacco-surcharge class actions, arbitration, administrative exhaustion, withdrawal liability, and Department of Labor developments affecting plan fiduciaries.
She has presented on ERISA litigation trends for Gibson Dunn clients and at outside programs, including programs focused on prohibited transactions and other emerging class-action theories.
Professional Activities and Education
Jennafer maintains an active pro bono practice. Her pro bono work has included securing a new jury trial from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on a grandmother’s excessive-force claim and drafting an amicus brief on behalf of Kids In Need of Defense in successful litigation challenging restrictions on asylum access for unaccompanied immigrant children.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Jennafer served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Dana Fabe of the Alaska Supreme Court and as an extern to Judge John W. Sedwick of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Law, where she was a member of the inaugural class. She also holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
Jennafer is a member of the California and Alaska bars and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits and the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Northern Districts of California and the Eastern District of Michigan.
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Class Actions
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Litigation
- Insurance and Reinsurance
- Labor and Employment
Credentials
Education:
- University of California, Irvine - 2012 Juris Doctor
- University of Southern California - 2008 Master of Public Administration
- Georgetown University - 2001 Bachelor of Science
Admissions:
- California Bar