ERIC LEGAL CONFERENCE
“CRITICAL ISSUES IN EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LAW”

Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Capitol Hilton Hotel
1001 16th Street (at K Street) N.W.
Washington, DC

Register Now!

The ERIC Legal Committee will bring together in-house benefits attorneys and benefits professionals from America’s leading employers to discuss “Critical Issues in Employee Benefits Law.” The Conference will provide ERIC–members companies with the opportunity to:
  • Discuss legislative and regulatory changes
  • Learn “best practices”
  • Participate in “how-to” sessions with other in-house benefits professionals
  • Broaden peer-to-peer networks
  • Hear from Treasury, IRS, and DOL officials on issues that concern you.
This conference provides in-house legal and other benefits professionals with a unique opportunity to discuss solutions to the problems they face each day in providing counsel and advice to America’s leading companies. Don’t miss this opportunity. Register Now!

ERIC has applied for CLE accreditation for this conference in California, Florida, and New York.

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is the only organization dedicated exclusively to representing the employee benefits and compensation interests of America's major employers. We are an extension of your staff, providing unmatched expertise on benefits, health care and compensation issues. ERIC is a major source of information for benefits professionals concerned with developments in the courts, the agencies, Congress, and the benefits community.

*Note: If you plan to attend and would like to receive CLE credit, please contact us. Although ERIC will make every effort to comply with the accreditation requirements of your state, we cannot guarantee that you will receive CLE credit for the conference.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

BREAKFAST BUFFET
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m
Sponsored by Aon Consulting
8:45 a.m.       WELCOME: C. Mark Bongard, Esq., (Ashland Oil Company)
                      Chairman, ERIC Legal Committee
   
PLENARY SESSIONS

   
9:00 a.m.   NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION:
THE IMPACT OF THE NEW RULES ON MAJOR EMPLOYER PLANS
  The “ERISAfication” of nonqualified deferred compensation under the new section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code has made deferred and executive compensation the “hot topic” among benefits practitioners. As companies begin to measure the impact of the new law on their total compensation platform, in-house benefits counsel are presented with the challenge of providing front-line advice on implementing the new regulatory framework. This session will provide you with the insight that you need to fully understand the complexities of the new law, and to advise your clients on its application. The session will include time for questions from the audience. plans.

Panelists:
  • Dan Hogans, Esq., Attorney Advisor, Office of Benefits Tax Counsel
  • Scott Macey, Esq., Senior Vice President, Aon Consulting
  • Stephen Tackney, Esq., Internal Revenue Service, Office of Division    Counsel/Associate Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities)

    Moderator: Amy Moore, Esq., Partner, Covington & Burling
    •    
    10:30 a.m.   THE ALLOCATION OF FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WAKE OF ENRON
      Issues of employer fiduciary responsibility dominate the landscape for benefits practitioners across the country. The Department of Labor has expressed its position on a range of topics in this area through several amicus briefs, and, most recently, in a field assistance bulletin that details the fiduciary responsibilities of directed trustees. However, questions still linger. This session will provide you with insight on where the DOL is headed in this area, and allow you to present your specific fiduciary duty questions directly to DOL staff.

      Panelists:
  • David Blake, Esq., Counsel, Tax Department, Exxon Mobil Corporation
  • Timothy Hauser, Esq., Associate Solicitor General, Plan Benefits Security
       Divisions, Department of Labor     Moderator: John Vine, Esq., Partner, Covington & Burling

    • 12:00 p.m.   LUNCHEON PRESENTATION
     
  • Speaker: Walter Olson, The Manhattan Institute, Author: “The Rule of Lawyers” (2004), “The Excuse Factory: How Employment Law is Paralyzing the American Workplace” (1997) and “The Litigation Explosion: What Happened when America Unleashed the Lawsuit” (1992).

    Walter Olson has been called “America’s leading authority on over-litigation”. His writings have helped spark debate about the high cost of the type of unrestrained litigation that has spilled into the benefits arena, most notably in the form of the recent “stock drop” lawsuits.

    Mr. Olson is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where his writing appears regularly in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the New York Post and Reason. He has appeared numerous times before Congress and advised many public officials. His approximately 400 broadcast appearances include “Crossfire”, the “Lehrer News Hour”, CNN “NewsNight with Aaron Brown”, “Oprah”, and Donahue”. He founded and continues to run several websites, including the widely acclaimed Overlawyered.com and the Manhattan Institute’s PointOfLaw.com.


    • CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSIONS
    1:30-3:00 p.m. & 3:30-5:00 p.m.

    Sponsored by Covington & Burling

    I: THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE AND IN-HOUSE BENEFITS LITIGATION: BEST PRACTICES
    When is the client, “the client”, as opposed to the plan sponsor? What communications between in-house counsel and the client are protected? Are those communications also protected when the client is acting solely as a plan sponsor? When does in-house benefits counsel act as counsel to the plan, as opposed to counsel to the client? These thorny issues present real-life questions for in-house benefits counsel. Find out the answers, and how your colleagues are addressing these issues.
    Panelists:
  • C. Mark Bongard, Esq., Employee Benefits Counsel, Ashland Oil Company
       Chair, Legal Committee, The ERISA Industry Committee
  • Fred Burton, Esq., Associate General Counsel, Lockheed Martin Corporation
  • Henry Eickelberg, Esq., Staff Vice President, Benefit Programs, General Dynamics Corporation;
       Associate Professor, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Cliff J. Schoner, Esq., Associate General Tax Counsel, Union Pacific Railroad
        Member, Board of Directors, The ERISA Industry Committee

    Moderator: Jeffrey Huvelle, Esq., Covington & Burling
    •    
    II: INTEGRATING SAME GENDER BENEFITS INTO YOUR BENEFITS PLATFORM: BEST PRACTICES
    Same-gender benefits are becoming an issue that demands more attention of in-house benefits counsel at major corporations. This seminar will provide you with an update on the impact of state laws. In addition, in-house benefits counsel for major employers will discuss how they are handling same-gender benefits law issues within their company.

    Panelists:
  • Mary Jo Anderson, Esq., Corporate Counsel, Legal Department, DuPont Company
  • Melissa Davis Hartranft, Esq., Assistant General Counsel, Fidelity Investments

    Moderator: Julie Edmond, Esq., Covington & Burling
    •    
    III: INTEGRATING MAJOR EMPLOYER HEALTH PLANS WITH THE MEDICARE DRUG PLAN:
           A “HOW TO GUIDE”
    The impact of the Medicare Modernization Act on major employer health plans is still being determined. The recently released regulations create a vast array of issues -- some obvious, others less than obvious -- for in-house benefits counsel. Find out what the issues are, and how you can help your company meet theses new challenges.

    Panelists:
  • Janet Boyd, Esq., Director, Government Relations, Tax and Healthcare, Dow Chemical Company
       Chair, Employer Coalition on Medicare
  • Jean LeMasurier, Deputy Director of Plan and Provider Purchasing, CMS

    Moderator: Alan Spielman, Covington & Burling
    •    
    IV: HSAS AND THE MAJOR EMPLOYER: SOLUTIONS THAT WORK
    Major employers are struggling with the question of how health savings accounts can be successfully integrated into the current benefits platform. Factors such as administration, costs, and the effects on healthcare premiums are a few of the roadblocks that in-house counsel have been asked to help clear. Hear what your colleagues have done, and are doing, to make HSAs work for a large workforce.

    Panelists:
  • Glenn Huston, Manager, Employee Benefits, Deere & Co.
  • Lori Kettering Knauer, Esq., Corporate Counsel, DuPont Company

    Moderator: Richard Shea, Esq., Covington & Burling
    •    
    5:00 p.m.
    		   MEMBER NETWORKING RECEPTION, Statler Room
    Sponsored by Covington & Burling


    CLE credit available in: CA, FL, KY, NY, PA, TX
    Credit requested in: DE, GA, IN, MN, OH, VA


    THE ERISA INDUSTRY COMMITTEE
    1400 L Street N.W., Suite 350
    Washington, DC 20005
    (202) 789-1400 Fax (202) 789-1120
    http://www.eric.org/