Ginger B. LaChapelle
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Albany

518.785.4387
518.785.9264 (fax)
gblachapelle@bklawyers.com
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Ginger B. LaChapelle is the co-chair of the Employee Benefits Practice Group. She has broad experience counseling sponsors of multi-employer and single-employer plans, companies, tax-exempt entities, and executives on all matters of tax and ERISA compliance. Ginger also regularly advises public plans on compliance with applicable state and federal laws.

Ginger advises on the design, operation, and applicable qualification requirements of all types of retirement and welfare benefit plans including compliance with HIPAA/HITECH, the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, FMLA, USERRA, MHPA/MHPAEA, PPA, and Internal Revenue Code compliance (including with sections 457(f) and 409A). She is a frequent public speaker on wide range of employee benefits plan related topics, including cybersecurity, compliance with federal mandates, and investment fees and expense.

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Ginger B. LaChapelle
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Areas Of PracticeEducation
  • LL.M. in Taxation and Employee Benefits Law, Georgetown University Law Center
  • J.D., cum laude, Syracuse University College of Law
    • Corporate Counsel Certificate
    • Dean’s Scholar
    • Herweegen Tax Scholar
    • Best Oralist/Finalist – Thomas Mugel National Appellate Tax Moot Court Competition
    • CALI Excellence for the Future Awards: Corporate Law and Criminal Law
    • Law Fellow
  • B.A., cum laude, Syracuse University
    • Golden Key National Honor Society
    • Dean's Scholar
Bar & Court Admissions
  • New York State (2003)
  • United States District Court for the District of Columbia (2004)
  • United States District Court for the District Court of Maryland (2005)
Significant Representations
  • Counsel to Boards of Trustees of multiemployer pension and welfare plans with individual assets of several billion dollars on day-to-day matters as well as special transactions.
  • Represented Board of Trustees of a multiemployer welfare plan in connection with a merger whereby it was acquiring another multiemployer welfare plan.
  • Participated in representation of certain loyal Trustees of a multiemployer pension plan in a U.S. Department of Labor investigation involving fiduciary obligations and mismanagement of millions of dollars of plan assets by a subset of Trustees, which resulted in settlement of the investigation without penalty to innocent Trustees.
  • Handled employee benefits considerations in connection with merger of local unions.
  • Draft and negotiate investment manager agreements, and side letter agreements with various private equity and hedge funds concerning the investment of plan assets.
  • Successfully represented International Pension Fund in multi-million dollar withdrawal liability litigation, which made law in the D.C. Circuit.
  • Established Secular Trust for key employees in beleaguered industry, thereby placing assets beyond the reach of company’s creditors.
  • Established 501(c)(3) tax-exempt scholarship fund for major international Union.
Speaking Engagements
  • Blitman & King Labor Law Seminar 2018 – "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017"
  • October 2017, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Annual Conference – "Retirement Plan Fees for the Public Sector"
  • September 2017, American Bar Association JCEB CLE – "Cybersecurity: Data and Asset Protection Duties of ERISA Fiduciaries
  • July 2017, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans – a"Health Benefit Plan Basics"
  • Blitman & King ERISA Seminar 2017 – "Benefit Fund Cybersecurity"
  • Blitman & King Labor Seminar 2017 – "GOP Affordable Care Act Replacement Proposals"
  • American Bar Association 2017 JCEB Annual Meetings – "Retirement Plan Fees 2.0"
  • Blitman & King ERISA Seminar 2016 –"Affordable Care Act Updates"
  • Blitman & King Labor Seminar 2016 – "Health Reimbursement Accounts"
  • Blitman & King ERISA Seminar 2015 – "Affordable Care Act Reporting and Disclosure Requirements"
  • Blitman & King Labor Seminar 2015 – "Recovering ERISA Plan Overpayments"
  • Blitman & King ERISA Seminar 2014 – "HIPAA Health Plan Identifier Number and Certification of Compliance with Standard Transactions Requirements Rules"
  • June 2014, New York State Bar Association Public Sector Relations Law CLE - "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Update: What Public Employers and Labor Need to Know"
  • American Bar Association 2009 JCEB Annual Meetings – "Health Reform Compliance"
  • Blitman & King Labor Seminar 2013 – " The HIPAA Final Omnibus Rule"
  • Blitman & King Employee Benefits Seminar 2012 – "Health Reform: 2014 and Beyond"
  • The New York State United Teachers 2010 & 2012 Member Benefits Conferences – "Health Reform Update" and "FMLA: The Basics"
  • American Bar Association 2011 Joint Committee of Employee Benefits Annual Meetings – "Multi-employer Plans and Funding Issues"
  • Blitman & King Employee Benefits Seminar 2011 – "Fee Disclosure in Participant Directed Individual Account Plans"
  • Blitman & King Labor Seminar 2011 – "The Small Employer Tax Credit"
  • The New York Employee Benefits Conference 2010 Meeting – "Fee Disclosure in Participant Directed 401(k)/403(b)/Profit Sharing and Other Individual Account Plans"
  • Blitman & King Employee Benefits Seminar 2010 – "Investment Advice to Participants and Beneficiaries: Proposed Regulations"
  • American Bar Association 2009 JCEB Annual Meetings – "403(b) Developments" and "Tax Compliance: Qualified Plan Tax Compliance Problems and What to do About Them"
  • Blitman & King Employee Benefits Seminar 2009 – "Final Regulations under the Mental Health Addiction Equity Act" and "Michelle’s Law"
Affiliations
  • American Bar Association Section of Taxation (2003 to present)
  • American Bar Association Section Labor and Employment Benefit Plans (2003 to present)
  • New York State Bar Association (2003 to present)
  • Albany County Bar Association; District of Columbia Bar Association