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Katherine Hesse, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, spoke at the three-part Member Benefits Trustee Education & Wellness Workshop for the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), an affiliate of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP). Among the other speakers were Daniel Brice and Ginger LaChapelle, both from Blitman & King, LLP in New York.

The first segment, presented by Ms. Hesse and Mr. Brice, was titled “Overview of Trustee Responsibility”. They discussed the fiduciary responsibility of benefit plan trustees, governance, administration, and how to communicate with plan professionals and participants. Ms. Hesse and Mr. Brice also presented the second segment, “Health Care Trends and Developments”. Several important facts were discussed, including healthcare costs, a legal and legislative update, Rx drugs (specifically the importation issues), mental health, and communication requirements and best practices. Finally, Ms. Hesse and Mr. Brice were joined by Ms. LaChapelle for the last segment, “Trustee Best Practices and Open Forum”. During this, the presenters discussed business improvement strategies, strategic planning, virtual board meetings, privacy and security, and a brief COVID-19 update.

Ms. Hesse practices primarily in labor, employment and employee benefits law. She serves as counsel to Fortune 500 companies, emerging businesses, government, tax-exempt organizations and large Taft-Hartley and governmental trusts. She advises clients on employment and benefits issues, and has litigated employment and benefits cases before state and federal trial and appellate courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators. She led her team of attorneys to be named the only firm in New England and one of only 11 in the United States to the special ERISA fiduciary litigation panel for one of the world’s largest insurance companies. She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Foundation and as Chair of its Government Liaison Committee. Ms. Hesse, a CEBS Compliant ISCEBS Fellow, was inducted into the new ISCEBS Hall of Fame in 2018. She received her B.A. degree from Smith College and her J.D. degree from the Boston University School of Law.