Biography

For 35 years, Lisa has practiced at Verrill exclusively in the areas of employee benefits and executive compensation, with a primary focus on the design, drafting, and operation of 401(k) plans, IRS correction programs for qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, and ERISA fiduciary duties and responsibilities.

Lisa regularly advises 401(k) plan and 403(b) plan clients regarding the design and implementation of ADP/ACP test safe harbors and automatic contribution arrangements (including QACAs and EACAs); and procedures for plan loan administration, QDRO administration, missing participants, and uncashed distribution checks. She has extensive experience (1) advising clients on the requirements applicable to tax-qualified retirement plans and nonqualified deferred compensation plans, (2) representing clients whose employee benefit plans are audited by the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor, and (3) advising clients on employee benefit plan issues in mergers and acquisitions. She also has deep experience drafting plan documents, fiduciary committee charters, investment policy statements, and participant disclosure documents including SPDs and required notices.

Since 2019, Lisa has served as co-editor of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group’s blog, Employee Benefits Update. She is past Chair of the firm's Associate Review Committee, and in 2017 she chaired the firm's Associate Leave Policy Task Force. As a mother of triplets, Lisa enjoys mentoring younger attorneys on work/life balance issues.

Services/Industries

Education

  • Duke University School of Law  (J.D.)
  • Hamilton College  (B.A., magna cum laude)
    • Phi Beta Kappa

Public Service

  • Past President and Member, Falmouth Maine Emergency Medical Team

Bar Admissions

  • Maine

Memberships

  • Maine State Bar Association, including the Women's Law Section
  • Maine Employee Benefits Council
  • New England Employee Benefits Council

Honors

  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2024, 2022, 2018, and 2015 Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Portland, Maine
  • AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Recognized in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business under Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law in Portland, Maine

To learn more about third-party ratings and rankings, and the selection processes used for inclusion, click here.

Firm Highlights

Blog

Update on the Debate over Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Investing

The debate over investment of retirement plan funds based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors continues to make waves. This post provides a high-level overview of the current state of play for...

Blog

Reasonable Compensation Under ERISA: Thoughts on Two Recent Cases

Two recent court decisions bring into focus two seldom-asked questions about the reasonable compensation requirement under ERISA. When must an ERISA plan’s service provider compensation be reasonable? And why shouldn’t a plan fiduciary be...

Blog

Catch-Up Contributions: IRS Provides Relief from Roth Requirements of SECURE 2.0

On August 25, 2023, the IRS issued IRS Notice 2023-62 , providing much needed relief for employers who have been struggling to implement Section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0&rdquo...

Blog

How to Comply with the Health FSA Debit Card Claims Substantiation Rules

The IRS’s recent Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 202317020 (the “Memo”) brings into focus the importance of compliance with the debit card claims substantiation requirements for medical care expenses reimbursed or paid for through a...

Publication/Podcast

Establishing Practices and Procedures to Support Retirement Plan Self-Correction

The opportunity to self-correct mistakes in maintaining a retirement plan has been dramatically expanded by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”); see our February 10 blog post for details. However, IRS interim...

Blog

Establishing Practices and Procedures to Support Self-Correction of Operational Failures

The self-correction of retirement plan operational failures under IRS correction principles has been conditioned upon a plan sponsor’s establishment of compliance practices and procedures since the creation of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System...

Blog

Retiree Medical Coverage: Just Get the COBRA Waiver

The interaction between employer-provided retiree medical coverage and COBRA [1] is complex. Many employers incorrectly assume they do not have to offer COBRA at retirement if they offer a retiree medical plan or a...

Blog

DOL Continues Enforcement of Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitation Requirements

Introduction : Fifteen months ago, we wrote that the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) had informed Congress that it intended to devote substantial resources to enforcing the new comparative analysis requirement for non-quantitative treatment...

News

82 Verrill Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers® 2024, Including 10 Named Lawyers of the Year

News

30 Verrill Attorneys, Across Four Offices, Recognized in 2023 Chambers & Partners Guide

Contact Verrill at (855) 307 0700