Law360 (March 3, 2023, 9:57 PM EST) - Congress recently passed legislation seeking to nix a U.S. Department of Labor rule meant to help retirement plan managers factor things like climate change and social justice into investment decisions, a move that attorneys say highlights the legal risks for plans that offer funds devoted to socially conscious investing. The House and Senate passed resolutions on Feb. 28 and Read More
3 Questions About DOL’s Mental Health Parity Push
Law 360 (November 18, 2022, 5:44 PM EST) -- The U.S. Department of Labor has vowed to continue its aggressive enforcement of a law requiring employer health plans to provide equal coverage for mental health and addiction treatments and other types of medical care, despite expected political pressure from the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives. The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity Read More
Hall Benefits Law Boosts C-Suite With Chief Growth Officer
Law360 (August 31, 2022, 3:05 PM EDT) -- Hall Benefits Law has strengthened its C-suite by promoting a former special consultant to chief growth officer, the national boutique benefits firm announced Wednesday. Vasu Pathak, who joined the firm in 2020, began his new role June 27 at the Atlanta headquarters alongside Managing Partner Anne Tyler Hall and Chief Marketing Officer David Hall. In an interview with Read More
HBL Strengthens C-Suite, Adds Law Office Manager to National ERISA and Employment Law Team
ATLANTA, Aug. 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Now serving plan sponsors and service provider clients in 39 states, national boutique ERISA law firm Hall Benefits Law welcomes Vasu Pathak, Chief Growth Officer, and Katie O'Fallon, Law Office Manager, to the Firm. Pathak rounds out the Firm's C-suite, alongside Managing Partner Anne Tyler Hall and Chief Marketing Officer David Hall, and O'Fallon anchors the Read More
HBL Expands of Counsel Ranks, ERISA Litigation Capabilities
ATLANTA, Feb. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Serving employer plan sponsors and benefit service provider clients in 35 states, boutique ERISA and employment law firm Hall Benefits Law is proud to partner with the attorneys of Pridgen Bassett Law in a mutual Of Counsel arrangement. Pridgen Bassett Law, LLC Partners Nancy Pridgen and Leslie Bassett spent many years at Alston & Bird and King & Spalding representing Read More
Northwestern ERISA Case Highlights Compliance Lessons
By Philip Koehler and Anne Hall (January 20, 2022) Litigation against Employee Retirement Income Security Act retirement and health plan sponsors and administrators has plagued workplace fiduciaries for the last two decades. Then, in 2020, ERISA lawsuits reached unprecedented levels and affected fiduciaries of ERISA retirement and health plans nationwide. Unwary 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors, fiduciaries and Read More
How Budget Bill Could Affect Employer Health, Benefit Plans
By Anne Hall and Tim Kennedy (December 15, 2021) The Build Back Better Act, or BBBA, supported by President Joe Biden, includes a broad range of social, climate change and revenue provisions. The $1.75 trillion spending bill,[1] which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 19, also includes myriad provisions that will affect employer-sponsored health plans and health and welfare benefits in Read More
HBL Makes Splash with Orange County, California Hire
ATLANTA, Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Now serving plan sponsors and service provider clients in 35 states, boutique ERISA law firm Hall Benefits Law welcomes Phil Koehler, Lead ERISA Counsel, to its legal team. Koehler brings a J.D. from the University of Southern California, an M.B.A., and thirty years of tax and employee benefit plans legal experience to the HBL team. The addition of Koehler gives HBL the Read More
Mental Health Parity Act: A Compliance Wake-Up Call
By Tim Kennedy and Anne Hall (October 18, 2021) Recent developments suggest that the U.S. Department of Labor is taking a renewed and more aggressive approach to enforcing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, or MHPAEA. First, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, or CAA, added a new and complex documentation requirement that will force group health plans and health insurance issuers to take Read More
Asset or Stock Purchase: Form of Transaction and the Impact to Employee Benefit Plans
Mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, or other reorganizations of a company can have a profound effect on employee benefit plans. For the purpose of this post, we’ll examine two common types of corporate transactions and the issues companies need to consider: Stock purchase – The buyer purchases all the stock of a company, and the seller does not retain any employees or benefit plans. Asset purchase – The Read More