Nancy S. Gerrie

Nancy Gerrie is an established leader and champion of women in the legal profession. Nancy co-chairs Winston & Strawn’s nationally-ranked Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice, where she advises employers on multi-billion dollar retirement plan design and transaction matters, such as complex multimillion dollar pension buy-outs, a recent $2.4B corporate spinoff, and overseeing a $21M transfer of pension assets mandated by the U.S. Department of Labor. Nancy’s clients have described her as “practical and innovative” and “gifted at explaining complex ERISA matters.”

Nancy is a 1990 graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where she served as president of the Law School’s Women’s Caucus. Throughout her career, Nancy has advocated for women’s equality and inclusion at every level in the profession. Nancy chairs women’s mentoring circles as part of Winston’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, enjoys mentoring junior partners, associates, and law students, and works to promote diversity in the profession as a member of Winston & Strawn’s Racial Equity Task Force.

A Chicago native, Nancy is committed to giving back to the Chicago community. Nancy serves on the Law Board of Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law. Her two children were babies when Nancy was in law school, which gave her insight into the challenges faced by women returning to the workforce. To address those challenges, Nancy helped design and fund Northwestern’s Gender Equity On-Ramp Program, which gives female graduates returning to legal practice the resources they need to update their skills and refresh their networks. Nancy also serves on the executive committee of the board of trustees for Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, as well as the executive advisors board of the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago. Nancy also serves as the chair of the Finance and Audit Committee of the Chicago Bar Foundation, and chaired Winston’s Investing in Justice Campaign to support the Chicago Bar Foundation for the last two years, which brings together lawyers citywide to provide funding to increase access to justice in the Chicago community.

Nancy has been recognized annually in Best Lawyers in America, Chambers, Legal 500 U.S., Leading Lawyers, and Lawdragon.

During the pandemic, Nancy devoted significant pro bono hours to preparing wills for first responders, nurses, doctors, and other health care workers in Chicago through the Chicago Bar Association’s Wills for Heroes program. When not working or spending time with her two children, Nancy enjoys biking along Chicago’s beautiful lakefront, catching the view of the skyline at Adler Planetarium, and appreciating the peacefulness of Northerly Island.