Angela Dean
Associate Professor of Law
B.A., distinguished honors in Political Science, cum laude, Temple University, 1991
J.D., Villanova University School of Law, 1996
L.L.M. in Taxation with a Cert. of Employee Benefit, Villanova University School of Law, 2004
Member, New York Bar, U.S. Tax Court and Internal Revenue Service
Professor Dean comes to Southwestern Law School after having completed a Visiting Assistant Professor position with Penn State Dickinson Law. She taught Business Associations and created the experiential learning courses, Law Practice Management and General Counsel and In-House Legal Department Experience.
She brings decades of legal experience as an employee benefits attorney. Professor Dean held various in-house counsel roles with pension funds and health insurers. Angela previously served as associate general counsel to the YMCA Retirement Fund where she acted as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) subject matter expert responsible for inter-departmental project management, compliance issues, regulatory agency inquiries as well as benefit claims and appeals.
"I became a lawyer to make a difference and you can as well. Don't ever give up on what you wish to accomplish in your life and career." and always remember "If you're not willing to learn, no one can help you. But, if you're determined to learn, no one can stop you. Zig Ziglar"
She also served as senior ERISA counsel to Health Now New York n/k/a Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Eastern and Western New York where she handled the self-funded employer line of business for their third-party administrator. As an investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, Angela enforced Title I of ERISA where she handled complex compliance matters that focused upon protecting the interests of participants and beneficiaries in private sector employee benefit plans.
Professor Dean established a law firm and represented small business owners and non-profit organizations before the Internal Revenue Service concerning tax collection matters. She handled appeals, offers in compromise and collection due process hearings on behalf of her clients.
Her scholarship includes a current work in progress entitled “Healthcare Benefits and the American Hustle” which examines the ERISA deemer clause, the creation of a two-tiered private sector health insurance system in America and the devastating effects of self-funded health plans on working Americans.
During law school, Ms. Dean served as a member of the Sports and Entertainment Law Journal and published a case note, “Expanding the Doctrines of Vicarious and Contributory Copyright Infringement: Fonovisa, Inc. v Cherry Auction, Inc. Targets the Primary Distribution Channels for Counterfeit Merchandise.” She received the Best Team Argument-Respondent award at the Niagara International Moot Court Competition while serving as a member of the Moot Court.