Cynthia Marcotte Stamer is a Texas-based management lawyer and consultant, author, lecturer, policy advocate, and thought leader sought out by business and government leaders locally, nationally and internationally for her more than 28 years of knowledgeable, pragmatic, client-centric, solutions-oriented and often leading edge work helping business, government, and community organizations and their leaders manage people, performance and risk.

Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and recognized as among the “Top Rated Labor & Employment Lawyers in Texas” by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell, Ms. Stamer works with public and private, domestic and international businesses of all types and sizes, their management leaders and their owners and investors; employee benefit plans, their employer and other sponsors, fiduciaries and vendors; governments and communities; and other organizations and their leaders.

General Labor & Employment, Human Resources & Other Workforce Management Highlights

Ms. Stamer’s resume includes extensive experience working on labor and employment, employee benefit, fringe benefit and compensation and other workforce, corporate compliance, internal controls and risk management concerns and events with health care, insurance and managed care, financial services, government contractor, government entity, retail, hospitality, energy, manufacturing, construction, environmental, life sciences, consulting and a host of other domestic and international employers, contractors, professional employment organizations (PEOs), management services organizations, employee leasing, staffing and other service providers; employee benefit plans, their sponsors, fiduciaries, insurers, administrators, business associates and other vendors; technology and data service providers of all types and sizes.

Her work focuses on helping these and other management clients and their leaders anticipate and deal with all aspects of human resources and other internal and external workforce, compensation and benefits, performance, reengineering and change management, planning, administration, audit and oversight, risk management and legal compliance, innovation, disaster preparedness and response, and defense. This work includes advice, representation and defense of management on traditional labor and employment, wage and hour, employee benefit and compensation, internal and external Federal Sentencing Guideline and other governance, compliance and internal controls, employee leasing, subcontracting and other outsourcing and vendor services, and other related matters.

In working with her clients, Ms. Stamer combines and deploys her extensive legal and operational knowledge and experience with her practical team building and project management skills to provide knowledgeable, pragmatic, client-centric, holistic, solutions-oriented guidance and management support to her management clients in a wide range of contexts tailored to the needs of the client. Ms. Stamer regularly provides “on demand” advice and support to management in dealing with emergent situations. She also assists management to monitor and respond to changing business needs, laws, regulations or other requirements. She helps employer, employee benefit and other human resources and employee benefits clients with strategic planning, development, coordination and implementation, administration, enforcement and defense of new or evolving human resources, workplace safety and wellness, compensation, Federal Sentencing Guideline and other performance management and compliance programs, payroll, health and other insurance or benefit programs, systems, processes, and processes and other workforce management, risk management, compliance or business initiatives, as well as to anticipate, evaluate and assess, defend or resolve disputes, government investigations and other controversies arising from the administration or operation of these arrangements. Her knowledge, experience and practical skills allow Ms. Stamer to support management both with timely, practical legal advice about what to do and guidance about how to do it as well as when requested, to lead or assist the client to plan, lead, manage or coordinate audits or other investigations relating to these arrangements initiated by the client, the government or others, as well as urgent or long-term projects involving diverse teams, multiple components or parties, or other complex situations.

Ms. Stamer’s day-to-day practice includes extensive continuous and ongoing involvement and experience advising, supporting and defending employer and employee benefit plan clients of all types and sizes on the typical day-to-day or other recurrent responsibilities and challenges of management like contracting, compliance, pay and compensation, hiring, training, performance management, investigations, discipline, and termination, as well as many extraordinary challenges, opportunities, and events large and small arising in the course of their operations. In the course of this work, Ms. Stamer helps management design, document, deploy, administer, enforce and defend their human resources, compensation, benefits, performance and other workforce policies, practices and actions. She helps her management clients manage their employees, vendors and suppliers and other workforce members; performance, compensation and benefits, health and safety. She helps management draft, review, interpret, administer, audit, enforce and defend employment and other services contracts, policies, procedures, and practices. She also advises and assists management to develop, innovate or tailor, implement, document, use, administer, enforce and defend client-centric, human resources, employee benefit, compensation, health and safety, internal and external controls, audit and investigation, board governance, insurance, outsourcing and subcontracting; contracting indemnity, compliance, and other management practices, processes, products, systems and technologies that support and promote the client’s operational objectives help management prevent, stabilize, mitigate, resolve and recover from legal and operational crises and exposures.

Examples of common management engagements of Ms. Stamer include internal and external workforce hiring, employee benefits and compensation, management, training, compliance and administration, discipline and termination, labor-management relations and negotiations, employment and outsourced services contracting and enforcement, sentencing guidelines and other compliance, performance management and internal controls, occupational safety and injury, wage and hour, executive compensation and other compensation, confidential information, non-competition and trade secrets, privacy and data security, reengineering and other change management, communications, worker classification, tax and payroll, crisis preparedness and response, government relations, government contracting, internal and external investigations, audits and compliance and risk assessments, regulatory reporting and risk management, defense of government, vendor, private plaintiff, and other audits, investigations, litigation and other enforcement, public policy and regulatory affairs, and most other aspects of workforce and human resources management.

Employee Benefits & Compensation Highlights

A Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefit Counsel recognized as among the “Best Lawyers In Dallas” in the fields of “Tax: Erisa & Employee Benefits” and “Health Care Law” by D Magazine and Ms. Stamer is nationally and internationally regarded for her deep and highly specialized knowledge, experience and health and other employee benefit and related labor and employment, tax, insurance and matters. 

Particularly recognized for her knowledgeable, pragmatic and often leading edge work and thought leadership on health, wellness and disease management and managed care, occupational injury, and severance benefit programs and products and the management and resolution of fiduciary and other risks associated with employee benefit plans impacted by bankruptcy or other distress, Ms. Stamer throughout her career continuously has counseled, represented and defended private sector and governmental employer and other plan sponsors, their management and investors, health and other employee benefit plans, their fiduciaries, administrators, insurers, administrative, technology and other service providers, privacy officers, and others on health and other employee benefit and compensation matters. Best known for her career-long leadership on health benefit concerns, Ms. Stamer advises and assists these and other management clients to design, administer and defend health, occupational and non-occupational accident and disability, life, vacation, and other welfare benefit, insurance, severance, qualified 401(k) and other defined contribution and defined benefit pension, equity and other non-qualified deferred compensation, private exchanges, cafeteria plan, and other employee benefit, fringe benefit, salary and hourly compensation, bonus and other incentive compensation and related programs, products and arrangements in light of the client’s objectives and applicable labor, tax, securities, insurance, contracting, and other laws. As a key element of this work, Ms. Stamer works closely with employer and other plan sponsors, insurance and financial services companies, plan fiduciaries, administrators, and vendors and others to design, administer and defend effective legally defensible employee benefits and compensation practices, programs, products, processes, communications and technologies. She also continuously helps employers, insurers, administrative and other service providers, their officers, directors, investors and others to manage fiduciary and other risks of sponsorship or involvement with these and other benefit and compensation arrangements and to defend and mitigate liability and other risks from benefit and liability claims including fiduciary, benefit and other claims, audits, and litigation brought by the Labor Department, IRS, HHS, participants and beneficiaries, service providers, and others.  She also is experienced in dealing with multiemployer and other collective bargained plan negotiations, withdrawal liability and other contribution, and other concerns. She also assists debtors and other plan sponsors, their current, former or successor management, creditors, bankruptcy trustees and others to assess, manage and resolve labor and employment, employee benefits and insurance, tax, securities, contracting, payroll and other compensation related concerns arising from program, vendor, or other plan changes, reductions in force or other terminations, mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies and other plan or business transactions including extensive experience leading the windup, termination, transition and/or remediation of plans and associated fiduciary and other liabilities and has acted as lead or consulting employee benefit counsel in defense or representation of employer, employee benefit, insurance and other industry clients in many high-profile and other bankruptcies, Department of Labor, Department of Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of Health & Human Services, Securities and Exchange Commission, state Departments of Insurance, Health, Workers’ Compensation, Workforce and other agency, and private audits, investigations, litigation and other actions.

Health Benefit Highlights

Ms. Stamer is nationally known and sought out for her knowledge and experience on health benefit matters by clients, government and industry leaders and others. Involved in health and other insurance and health care matters in other capacities prior to commencing her legal career, Stamer began focusing on health benefit concerns from the onset of her career. Helping employers and others deal with health benefit related costs, compliance responsibilities, risks and other ever increasing challenges has been a major focus of Ms. Stamer’s work and interest throughout her career. She is most widely recognized and acknowledged for her extensive and often leading edge client work, regulatory and public policy advocacy, publications and thought leadership in relation to the design, documentation, administration, regulation and defense of all types of insured and self-insured health, welfare and disease management benefit plans and programs for employer, union, trade and other association, government and other health program sponsors, insurers, fiduciaries, administrators, brokers, consultants, and other vendors, and others. Past Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group, past Chair of the ABA RPTE Section Employee Benefits & Other Compensation Group  and the initial and a long-time Chair of its Welfare Benefit Committee, current Vice Chair of the ABA TIPS Employee Benefit Committee, and a leader in many other health benefit organizations and activities, Ms. Stamer has worked extensively with these and other health plan clients to keep abreast of and respond to the continuously changing health benefit regulations and product marketplace, as well as to update, risk management, administer and defend these arrangements.

Armed with extensive knowledge and experience in ERISA and other labor and employment, tax, insurance, health care and other related regulatory and operational matters impacting health care, Ms. Stamer advises and assists her clients to review, adapt, design, implement, administer, communicate, enforce, and defend cost-effective, legally defensible insured and self-insured health benefit plans, programs and practices of all types and sizes. Widely recognized as an industry leader, her experience includes ongoing advice and representation of plan sponsors, fiduciaries, insurers and others about the design and development, compliance and other review and correction of plan documents and other plans, policies and related materials and practices, vendor and fiduciary credentialing, selection and oversight, vendor and other plan related contracting, plan and contract drafting, review, interpretation, implementation, administration, enforcement, audit, modification and termination, and defense of health benefit plans, programs, practices and arrangements. 

Ms. Stamer’s experience includes extensive work on the development, implementation, evaluation and defense of conventional and emerging indemnity and managed health care, wellness, disease management and related plans, policies, programs and arrangements, as well as leading edge work on the development and use of deductible reimbursement, HSA, HRA, health FSA, private exchange and other defined contribution and consumer directed health plans; HMO, PPO, ACO, direct provider contracting and other managed care, “high deductible,” “limited benefit,” “mandate only,” “mini-med,” 24-hour and other occupational and non-occupational injury and accident, ex-patriate and medical tourism, onsite and other corporate medical, wellness and disease management, cafeteria plan/flexible benefit plan and other health benefit choice, association and other multiple and multiemployer, and other health benefit programs, products, arrangements, technologies and platforms, and their associated administrative, funding, technology and other products, practices, tools, and solutions.

Ms. Stamer also counsels, represents and defends employers and other health plan sponsors, health plan fiduciaries, third party administrators and other service providers, insurers, and others on the design, administration and defense of health benefit contracts, participant and beneficiary claims and appeals, prompt pay and other provider and vendor disputes, Department of Labor, Department of Insurance and other investigations and disputes. She represents employers and associations; health plans; health and managed care program sponsors, managed care and insurance organizations, plan fiduciaries, technology and other plan vendors and others before Congress and federal and state regulators and assists them to respond regulatory and enforcement changes. She also advises and represents clients in connection with investigations, litigation, audits, and other actions involving the Department of Labor, IRS, Federal Trade Commission, CMS, HHS, Office of Civil Rights, Office of Inspector General, state department of insurance, state attorneys general, boards of medicine, and other federal and state regulators. Her experience also includes advice and representation of a broad range of state and local governmental entities, their employee benefit and insurance programs, vendors, and others about procurement, compliance, administration, risk management, disputes, and other related matters.

As a continuous component of this work, Ms. Stamer constantly works with employer and other management organizations, union, association, insurance government and other plan sponsors, managed care and insurance, plan fiduciaries, third party administrative service providers and other plan vendors, stop-loss, captive and other reinsurers, brokers, consultants, and advisors, and others to design, review, draft, amend, implement, administer, enforce and defend a diverse array of conventional and cutting edge insured and self-insured managed care and other health benefit plans, programs, products, practices and arrangements. She continuously helps clients to understand, review, design and update, interpret, administer, enforce, and defend health benefit plans and other managed care and insurance programs, products and arrangements, for enforceability, compliance and risk management in light of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, the Social Security Act, COBRA, HIPAA, USERRA, the FMLA, USERRA, Michelle’s Law, the ADA, Title VII, ADEA, Mental Health Parity, GINA, the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (ACA), state prompt pay, managed care and other contracting, mandated benefit, licensure and other insurance, and other federal and state laws. She counsels and aids clients to review and drafts, amends and updates plan documents, insurance policies, summary plan descriptions, summary of benefits and coverage, eligibility and other notices and communications, eligibility, enrollment, medical necessity and appropriateness, reasonable and customary, claims adjudication, independent review and other appeals, and other administrative policies, procedures, practices and actions. She advises and represents clients about association plan, MEWA and other multiple and multi-employer plan arrangements; VEBA and grantor trust, individual, employer and association group, stop-loss, captive, and other insurance and funding arrangements; HIPAA and other privacy and data security; insurance, administrative services, and other vendor credentialing, contracting, oversight and compliance and a broad range of other health plan related matters. She not only assists plan sponsors and other to review and contract with private exchanges and others offering health and other coverage in the marketplace as well as has lead the design, development, establishment and administration of private exchange arrangements and other innovative platforms and solutions offering employer members the opportunity to contract to provide benefits to employees and their dependents under prototype self-insured health gold, silver, bronze and mandate only or “skinny” plan options and their implications under Internal Revenue Code §4980H and other ACA health care reforms as well as other federal and state laws and regulations. She also regularly is sought out by government leaders, technology vendors, insurance and other health benefit consulting, and others for advice and assistance to develop new products, technologies and other health and wellness benefit solutions.

Ms. Stamer also has assisted in the development and administration of a wide range of eligibility, online and other enrollment, COBRA and HIPAA, claims and appeals, and other administrative processes and systems, including internet and intranet based electronic eligibility administration and enrollment systems and technologies, communications, and processes. Ms. Stamer has extensive experience advising employers, ERISA health plans, insurers, TPAs, self-insured plan fiduciaries and sponsors, medical bill reviewers, and others about ERISA, prompt pay, and other claims investigation and administration, licensure, regulatory, public policy, operations and compliance, tax, and other operational matters. She also has experience designing and defending programs for associations, fraternal benefit societies, multiple employer welfare arrangements, state and local governments, churches, and other non-ERISA regulated groups. 

Her managed care and other health plan and insurance work includes both the review, design, documentation and enforcement of the plans, policies and programs themselves, as well as the drafting, review, negotiation and enforcement of third party administration and other outsourcing, stop loss and other reinsurance, preferred provider organization, provider contracts, and other related arrangements. She drafts and reviews certificates of insurance, summary plan descriptions, notices, marketing, explanations of benefits, privacy practices and other communications, and administration and compliance policies and procedures. She assists employers, health plans, health plan fiduciaries, health insurers, third party administrators, medical bill review, utilization management, online and other payroll and eligibility administrators and systems providers and others to design processes and procedures to administer programs and operations in accordance with applicable regulatory and contractual mandates, maintain privacy and data security, improve operations, improve defensibility, and minimize liabilities.

Ms. Stamer also is deeply involved in helping to influence ACA and other health and insurance, pension, social security, workforce, insurance and other legislation and regulations impacting health and other benefit, compensation, human resources and other workforce practices and liabilities. A former lead consultant to the Government of Bolivia on its Social Security reform law and most recognized for her leadership on U.S. health and pension, wage and hour, tax, education and immigration policy reform, advises and represents public and private employers and other clients about legislative, regulatory and other public policy matters affecting health and other benefit plans, workforce, insurance and other matters. Ms. Stamer also works with U.S. and foreign businesses, governments, trade associations, and others on workforce, social security and severance, health care, immigration, privacy and data security, tax, ethics and other laws and regulations. Founder and Executive Director of the Coalition for Responsible Healthcare Policy and its PROJECT COPE: the Coalition on Patient Empowerment and a Fellow in the American Bar Foundation and State Bar of Texas, Ms. Stamer annually leads the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB) HHS Office of Civil Rights agency meeting and other JCEB agency meetings. She also works as a policy advisor and advocate to many business, professional and civic organizations. She regularly provides input to Congress and key regulatory agencies on ACA and other health reform, pension, wage and hour, and other laws and regulations. She both helps her clients respond to and resolve emerging regulations and laws, government investigations and enforcement actions and helps them shape the rules through dealings with Congress and other legislatures, regulators and government officials domestically and internationally.

Ms. Stamer also is experienced with a diverse array of other insurance and risk products, services and matters. She has experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating property; casualty; trade credit and letters of trade credit; travel; shipping and other transportation; bonds and security; stop-loss and reinsurance; subrogation, assignment indemnification subcontractor and other risk shifting agreements; liability, disaster, and risk assessment, prevention, mitigation, recovery and response strategies and other risk management programs; compliance plans; errors and omissions (E&O); malpractice and other liability; employment practices liability (EPL); fiduciary liability and other management liability policies and coverage; terrorism business interruption, and cybercrime and other crisis management coverage; and other insurance and risk management products, processes, services, protocols and agreements.

Author of the thousands of publications and workshops these and other employment, employee benefits, health care, insurance, workforce and other management matters, Ms. Stamer’s health plan publications include a multitude of highly regarded, leading works on health and managed care plans, hundreds of practical publications in leading professional, industry, and popular media publications, as well as practical resources such as her “Managed Care Contracting Guide,” a workbook for contracting for health plan managed care and other administrative services contracting along with sample language and associated analysis; “Health Plan Eligibility Toolkit,” a collection of sample plan amendments, administration forms, and accompanying instructions and procedures designed to help employer-sponsored health plans and their administrators review and administer their ERISA-covered health plans in accordance with COBRA, the FMLA, USERRA, HIPAA Portability, Medicare and Medicaid non-discrimination prohibitions, and other applicable Federal eligibility mandates; “Qualified Medical Child Support Order Administration Manual,” a collection of sample plan amendments, administrative forms, and procedures designed to help employer-sponsored health plans and their administrators to review, update and administer their ERISA-covered health plans to comply with the qualified medical child support order mandates applicable to group health plans under ERISA; and “Personal Health Care Tool Kit,” a collection of patient empowerment tools to assist employees and other health care consumers to organize, select, and administer their families’ health care, health insurance, and health care finance choices and concerns.

Ms. Stamer also is a highly sought out speaker and industry thought leader known for empowering audiences and readers. Ms. Stamer’s insights on health and other employee benefits, insurance, health care and workforce matters in Atlantic Information Services, The Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), InsuranceThoughtLeaders.com, Benefits Magazine, Employee Benefit News, Texas CEO Magazine, HealthLeaders, Modern Healthcare, Business Insurance, Employee Benefits News, World At Work, Benefits Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Business Journal, the Houston Business Journal, and many other publications. She also currently or in the past has served as an Editorial Advisory Board Member and author for human resources, health and other employee benefit and other management focused publications of BNA, HR.com, Employee Benefit News, InsuranceThoughtLeadership.com and many other prominent publications. Ms. Stamer also regularly serves on the faculty and planning committees for symposia of LexisNexis, the American Bar Association, ALIABA, the Society of Employee Benefits Administrators, the American Law Institute, ISSA, HIMMs, and many other prominent educational and training organizations and conducts training and speaks on these and other management, compliance and public policy concerns. 

Beyond these involvements, Ms. Stamer also has a lengthy resume of involvement in the leadership of a broad range of other professional and civic organizations. For instance, Ms. Stamer serves on an American Bar Association (ABA) Joint Committee on Employee Benefits Council representative and Scribe of its annual Agency Meeting with the Department of Health & Human Services Office of Civil Rights on HIPAA and participates in Government Invitational and Agency Meetings with the Departments of Labor, IRS, PBGC, SEC, HHS and other key agencies; Vice President of the North Texas Healthcare Compliance Professionals Association; is Past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group and a current member of its Healthcare Coordinating Council; is the former ABA RPTE Employee Benefits & Other Compensation Group Chair, its current the Substantive Groups & Committee Liaison and Defined Contribution Plan Co-Chair, and former Welfare Plan Committee Chair and Co-Chair, as well as the ABA RPTE Practice Management Committee Vice Chair; is the current ABA Tort & Insurance Practice Section Employee Benefit Committee Vice Chair; the former Coordinator and a Vice-Chair of the Gulf Coast TEGE Council TE Division. She also previously served as Chair of the Dallas Bar Association Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Committee; the Treasurer, Continuing Education Chair and on the Board of Directors of the Southwest Benefits Association; on the National Consultants Forum Board, Region IV Chair of the Society for Human Resources Management and Legislative Committee Chair for its Dallas HR Chapter; on the National Board of Directors, and as a Whistle-stop Speaker and Dallas Chapter President of the WEB Network of Benefit Professionals; Co-Chair of the Dallas Benefits Society; is a founding Board Member and Past-President of the Alliance for Healthcare Excellence; as a Board Member and Board Compliance Committee Chair for the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas; the Board President of the early childhood development intervention agency, The Richardson Development Center for Children; on the Long Range Planning Committee of the Dallas United Way, and in the leadership of many other professional and civic leadership roles.

Ms. Stamer practiced law as a partner with several prominent national and international law firms for more than 10 years before founding Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, P.C. to practice her unique brand of “Solutions law™.” After practicing independently for many years, Ms. Stamer labor & employment attorney Robert G. Chadwick; and professional liability and civil litigation attorney Timothy B. Soefje, joined with Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, P.C. to form Stamer │Chadwick │Soefje, PLLC. A boutique firm of exceptionally experienced and skilled “big-firm" lawyers committed to changing the way law firms serve their clients, the firm focuses on advising and representing businesses and professionals nationally in the areas of healthcare, cyber liability, ERISA, employee benefits, labor & employment, corporate and commercial litigation, professional liability, construction litigation, and insurance defense.

Stamer │Chadwick │Soefje, PLLC delivers sophisticated legal advice and innovative solutions to the most challenging and complex problems. Simply put, Stamer │Chadwick │Soefje, PLLC attorneys are "Solutions Lawyers™." Stamer │Chadwick │Soefje, PLLC possess the breadth of experience to respond to the challenges the firm’s corporate and individual clients face and help guide them toward pragmatic resolutions that make sense for them. All three founding attorneys are rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ Ms. Stamer and Mr. Chadwick are both Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, are Fellows in the American Bar Foundation, and recognized as “Top Lawyers” in Labor and Employment Law. Ms. Stamer also has received recognition as a “Top” attorney in health care and employee benefits law and is a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefit Council

For additional information about Ms. Stamer, see http://www.cynthiastamer.com/ or contact Ms. Stamer directly via e-mail to cstamer@solutionslawyer.net or telephone Ms. Stamer at (469) 767-8872. For more information about Stamer Chadwick Soefje PLLC, see http://www.stamerchadwicksoefje.com/.