Kutak Rock partners Brian Bartels and Sevawn Foster Holt will speak at the SouthWest Benefits Association’s (SWBA) Administration Workshop in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 24. Brian and Sevawn will present their session “Understanding How Recent Court Cases are Impacting Employee Benefits” at 12:30 p.m. (CT). The presentation will provide employers, administrators and fiduciaries of health and welfare and retirement plans with a legal update regarding 2025 litigation trends and delve into recent cases that address:

• Participant data and cross-selling
• Plan forfeitures
• Pension risk transfers 
• Prohibited transactions 
• Cases involving state regulation of: 
  • Pharmacy benefit managers
  • Employee benefit plan cybersecurity issues
  • Wellness program compliance 
  • Third-party administrator issues

Click here to learn more and register for the SWBA workshop.

Brian leads Kutak Rock’s national health and welfare benefits practice. He advises clients across the country on group health plans, wellness programs, cafeteria plans, health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, and other health and welfare plans. Brian regularly counsels clients on mental health parity, No Surprises Act, HIPAA, ERISA, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and COBRA compliance issues. He drafts and negotiates service agreements and business associate agreements for employee benefit plans; prepares plan-related documents, employee communications, and HIPAA policies and procedures; and counsels clients on benefit plan design and administration issues.

Sevawn represents closely held, publicly held, and non-profit clients regarding employee benefits and executive compensation matters. Much of her practice involves the creation and ongoing administration of executive compensation arrangements, including nonqualified deferred compensation plans, “top hat” plans, equity compensation, phantom equity, incentive compensation, employment agreements, severance agreements, excess benefit plans, and change-in-control arrangements. Sevawn regularly advises clients with respect to compliance with qualified retirement plans, Internal Revenue Code Section 409A, and the ERISA and tax rules surrounding deferred compensation.