Employee Benefits Counsel / ERISA Attorney

General Description: Responsible for monitoring and communicating ongoing and changing laws affecting health and welfare plans, including ACA, ERISA, the Code, HIPAA, and COBRA. The individual in this role will be responsible for the development and presentation of materials on various health and welfare compliance related issues to internal sales teams, as well as external clients.

Responsibilities:

• Establish effective working relationships with internal partners, clients and carriers.
• Will function as part of a national team of Employee Benefit Attorneys to meet the overall objectives for the health and welfare compliance team.
• Research, read, evaluate and edit articles, alerts and other materials for publication or distribution to internal and external clients.
• Gathers material, performs research, and assists client service team in the formulation of strategy to solve client problems related to ERISA, ACA, the Code, HIPAA and state issues affecting health and welfare plans.
• Develop and maintain compliance education tools for health and welfare compliance.
• Create and deliver presentations to internal staff and to external clients and prospects.
• Monitor and identify legal developments such as relevant statutes, regulations, case law and legal articles affecting employee benefit plans.
• Maintain and update compliance library resources, including cross checking and validating that information is up-to date.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Must be a self-starter, and demonstrate cooperation and collaboration in team settings.
• Ability to work with a diverse set of individuals and personalities.
• Keeps informed regarding industry information, new product information and technology to continuously improve knowledge and performance.
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment with minimal instruction and a high degree of accuracy.
• Sets priorities and manages workflow to ensure efficient, timely and accurate production of tools and materials.
• Able to quickly assess and learn organizational roles, responsibilities and process flows.
• Maintain a cordial and effective relationship with internal clients, team members and vendors.
• Interact with others effectively by utilizing good communication skills, cooperating purposefully and providing information and guidance, as needed, to achieve the business goals of the company.
• College degree and J.D. required.
• 4 - 8 years experience in working on compliance issues of employer-sponsored welfare benefits plans. Prior experience in employee benefits law or experience in compliance consulting on these issues is required.
• Must be proficient with computers and quickly competent with new technology tools. Specifically, must have full competence with MS Office Suite products and Adobe products.
• Must have background and thorough understanding of the various laws that impact health and welfare plans including ACA, ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, Internal Revenue Code and insurance laws that affect these programs.
• Must portray strong leadership skills.
• Must be comfortable in a public speaking environment and demonstrate ability to convey complex information in a simple and organized format to a wide variety of audiences.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing with others to explain complex issues and interpret complex information, and responds appropriately.
• Strong research and writing skills and experience with interpreting statutes and regulations.
• Remains informed regarding industry information and new product information.
• Must have strong interpersonal and verbal skills.
• Must have strong organizational and time management skills.
• Some travel required 10-20%.