Exhausting options, seeking advice

• 1). Reading over your plan prospectus and disclosures will help to familiarize you with what governance and complaint structures exist within the plan. You may be able to first appeal to a regulatory body, either within the deferred compensation plan's governance structure itself or through your state's attorney general. It may be helpful to speak with plan administrators to see if there is a way to mediate the problem internally. If your plan's internal structure does not satisfy you, then going to an outside regulatory body is the next logical step.
  
  It is important to note that you need to have exhausted all other remedies before seeking legal action.
  
  
• 2). You will need to define the problem carefully--whether it be that poor investment decisions have led to devaluation of the plan, or misfiling has cost you savings, or you believe there is evidence of possible fraudulent behavior--each of these requires a different set of legal skills. Defining your problem will allow you to research how your state or others may have dealt with the problem in the past and what type of lawyer you should seek out.
  
  
• 3). Seeking outside regulatory help. Having defined the problem, you can identify state and federal agencies that may have jurisdiction. A good place to start is with your state attorney general's office. After contacting the office with your problem, you may also wish to contact your elected state officials. Any troubles you are having with the plan are of a direct concern to them because the state itself oversees its plan.
  
  Federal agencies, like the Internal Revenue Service may also be interested in your problem and may be able to help if state agencies are unresponsive. At this point, contacting your congressperson is also a wise step.
  
  

Suing for Relief

• 1). Before you can file a lawsuit, whether with an attorney as counsel or by yourself, you should make sure you have documented what steps you have taken to solve the problem and how they have failed to provide a remedy. Letters, emails and phone logs are all important steps, and the court will likely be interested in all of these steps.
  
  
• 2). If you believe that you cannot afford to hire an attorney or if you feel that an attorney is not necessary, you may be able to proceed by filing your suit "pro se." Pro se is a legal term that means, literally, "for himself." If your problem is very complex, or if you can afford to hire counsel, you might prefer to hire a lawyer who specializes in this area of law. If you decide to proceed without an attorney, your state's attorney general or your local courthouse or government center may have "self-help" resources that can help you in filing your case in court. It may even be able to provide you with templates of documents you'll need to draft for the filing.
  
  
• 3). If you decide to hire an attorney, you can research attorneys who have been peer reviewed and have a background in this area of law. You should then contact one for an initial meeting. You will probably need to bring all of your documents with you to that meeting and you can discuss the attorney's fee at that time.
  
  
• 4). Your attorney, if you both agree to proceed with the suit, will have a number of documents for you to sign and will explain the nature of the services and fees involved. He or she will then instruct you on what your options are and what he or she believes the best procedure is to move forward.