Associate
Ernest Zhu joined the firm in 2021. His practice focuses on employee health and welfare plans and tax-qualified retirement plans.
Ernest represents and advises federal and postal employee health benefit plans, governmental retirement plans, various multiemployer pension and welfare plans, single employer plans, and jointly administered multiemployer retirement plans and health and welfare plans, as well as plans sponsored by unions for their internal staff. He provides advice on compliance with a variety of laws, including ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, FEHBA, PSRA of 2022, HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act. He also advises plans on plan design and administration, benefit claims and fiduciary issues, delinquency collection, participant communications, service provider agreements and qualified domestic relations orders.
At Washington University School of Law, Ernest received the Dean’s Service Award, the Scholar in Law Award and the Excellence in Oral Advocacy Award. He also served as an associate editor of the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy.
Before law school, Ernest taught advanced math to high school students. He currently serves as a mentor on the Summer Judicial Internship Diversity Project, a national program aiming to provide highly qualified, diverse law students with summer judicial internships in the chambers of federal and state judges. During law school, Ernest himself served as an intern in multiple chambers in federal district court.
Ernest can be reached at