William B. McClure, Jr.

William B. McClure, Jr., who passed away in 1998 at age 51, was a recognized expert in employee benefits law under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). He was inducted into the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (the “College”) in 2000 as an In Memoriam Fellow.

Bill graduated from Samford University (Bachelor of Arts, 1968) and the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, 1972), both in Birmingham, AL. He served as executive editor of the Cumberland Law Review from 1971 to 1972. He went on to earn his master of law in taxation at Georgetown University in 1975.

Bill began his legal career in 1972 with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), and assisted in the drafting of regulations at the time of the passage of ERISA. He served as senior attorney in the Interpretative Division of the IRS Chief Counsel’s office. Bill helped shape the developing law and was involved in early interpretations of the then-new ERISA, such as General Counsel Memorandum 36721 (1976) addressing plan terminations under the new law.

From 1972 to 1975, he worked with IRS Deputy Chief Counsel, Acting Chief Counsel, and Assistant Commissioner (Technical) Lawrence (“Larry”) B. Gibbs. (Larry Gibbs was called back to serve as Commissioner of the IRS from 1986 to 1989.) In 1976, Bill was recruited into private practice by Mr. Gibbs, who recognized Bill’s superior abilities. Working in Dallas, TX for the remainder of his career, Bill worked at Hewett Johnson Swanson & Barbee (later, Johnson & Gibbs, P. C. and Johnson & Swanson) between 1976 and 1993. In 1993, he became a partner at Gardere & Wynne LLP (later, Foley & Lardner LLP) and in 1995, he was a partner in the Dallas office of Baker & Botts, L.L.P.

A sought-after expert, he helped educate the next generation of lawyers as a lecturer in employee benefits for the master of laws program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas from 1978 to 1980. Bill also was a frequent speaker for the American Law Institute- American Bar Association seminars, speaking on issues such as participant-directed investments and allocation of administrative expenses between plans and employers.

An active participant in the bar association, Bill was a Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation Employee Benefits Committee from 1984 to 1986 and served as a Council Director of the Section of Taxation. He was Chair of the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits from 1985 to 1986.

College Fellow Bruce Pingree who practiced with him at Baker Botts recalled that Bill was a very precise and thoughtful benefits practitioner and exercised these qualities through an acerbic Alabama accent, enlivened by the occasional outrageous remark.

Photo Source: The Decade Book, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel 2000-2010