Christine Roberts

I am a partner at Mullen & Henzell L.L.P., a full-service law firm since 1953, located in downtown Santa Barbara. Since 1997 I have provided employee benefits advice and support to local for-profit and non-profit businesses, in conjunction with the firm's defense-side Employment Law Department. I also assist our Estate Planning department with qualified plan and IRA issues including beneficiary designations, rollover issues, and related concerns.

A significant part of my practice is representing and providing compliance guidance to benefits brokers and third party administrators, in both the retirement plan and welfare benefit spheres. Specifically I provide day-to-day support as well as periodic staff training services to brokers and advisors grappling with the complexities of health care reform under the Affordable Care Act, and health privacy laws under HIPAA, HITECH and applicable state law.

In addition to assiting with a variety of benefits compliance issues affecting retirement and welfare benefit plans (including COBRA and flex plan issues), I have worked extensively with “non-qualified” executive compensation arrangements as governed by Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. I regularly advise clients on the benefit plan due-diligence aspects of business mergers and acquisitions. I frequently hepl clients resolve compliance issues through the IRS and Department of Labor voluntary compliance programs (EPCRS, VFCP, DFVCP) and have written chapters on these programs for several AICPA and Aspen publications.

I write about benefits regularly at www.EforERISA.com.