For more than 30 years, Cindy has practiced in the areas of employee benefits, ERISA, commercial real estate and general business and transaction matters. Cindy's clients include employee benefit plan sponsors, boards of trustees, administrators and third-party administrators (TPAs). She has a wealth of knowledge and extensive experience related to employee benefit plans and specifically with the issues unique to Taft-Hartley employee benefit plans. She regularly advises clients regarding employee benefit plan compliance related to ERISA, fiduciary duty and governance, PPACA, COBRA, PHSA, HIPAA, FMLA and the Internal Revenue Code.

Fund Counsel. Cindy provides the full-range of services required by benefit plans to be in compliance with all laws and regulations and best protect the interest of the plan and its 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 applicable 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.       

Investment Documentation Review. Serving as counsel to benefit Fund clients, Cindy’s goal is to provide greater protection to the Fund so they may be more proactive and limit their exposure in the volatile investment market. She 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.