Nicholas Starkman specializes in representing Taft‑Hartley multiemployer health and welfare, pension, vacation, and other employee benefit plans in ERISA litigation, including the collection of employer contributions and the defense of benefit determinations before the United States District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He represents trust fund fiduciaries across industries such as film and television, construction, cement masons, plasterers, logistics, and manufacturing.
Mr. Starkman joined Wohlner Kaplon Cutler Halford Rosenfeld & Levy in 2014 as an associate in the firm’s litigation practice and later served as in‑house counsel representing healthcare technology companies before returning to the firm as a partner in 2026. He brings a pragmatic, solutions‑oriented approach to his work, pairing rigorous legal analysis with a collaborative, steady presence that supports trustees, third‑party administrators, and labor leaders in fulfilling their mission to safeguard the benefits earned by working people.
Mr. Starkman is a graduate of UC Davis School of Law (King Hall) and is an avid marathon runner and triathlete. In 2018, he published Chevron and Citizenship, 51 UC Davis Law Review 145 (2018) (with Gabriel “Jack” Chin and Steven Vong), reprinted in 24 Bender’s Immigration Bulletin 271 (2019).