Clients benefit from Cindy’s more than 30 years of legal experience focused on employee benefits, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), commercial real estate, and general business and transaction matters. Employee benefit plan sponsors, boards of trustees, administrators, and third-party administrators (TPAs), turn to Cindy for her wealth of knowledge related to employee benefit plans, specifically with the considerations and potential challenges unique to Taft-Hartley employee benefit plans. She regularly advises clients regarding employee benefit plan compliance related to ERISA, fiduciary duty and governance, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Internal Revenue Code.
Cindy also acts as fund counsel, providing the full range of services required by benefit plans to ensure that they are in compliance with all laws and regulations and to best protect their interests and governing fiduciaries. Her clients include numerous multi-employer benefit plans, as well as a major governmental body for which she negotiates network and claims paying agreements with TPAs. She assists clients in designing, implementing, and operating retirement and group health plans consistent with the objectives of the plan sponsors and applicable laws. She also prepares corrective documentation and filing documentation with enforcement agencies, while simultaneously coordinating with relevant state law. Cindy has extensive experience representing clients in highly complex areas, such as:
- Fiduciary duty and governance
- Hedge fund investment by employee benefits plans
- Employee plan commercial real estate and development financing transactions
- Service provider agreements
- Network access agreements
She reviews and drafts contracts and negotiates terms favorable to clients, including network agreements between employer benefit plans and the health care provider networks, as well as commercial construction and financing documentation.
Additionally, Cindy regularly assists in Documentation Review. She serves as counsel to benefit fund clients, with the ultimate goal of providing greater protection to the fund so they may be more proactive and limit their exposure in the volatile investment market. She carefully reviews private equity and hedge fund offerings, subscription agreements, and other investment documents for potential issues, such as any prohibited transaction issues under ERISA, indemnification issues, compensation to the Hedge Fund Manager and Investment Manager, clawback rights, and term of the holding period and withdrawal rights. Cindy will often negotiate with the Hedge Fund Manager to secure a side letter clarifying and resolving potentially costly issues that might otherwise arise for her client.
Media Mentions:
06.14.2023 Shumaker Adds Employee Benefits Team From Two Firms, Law360