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One-of-a-kind in both her personal and professional life, Meredith Sesser of Sesser Law dives into the world of ERISA and demonstrates to us why she is truly unstoppable.

Los Angeles native, Meredith Sesser is among the nation’s leading authorities on employee benefits law, ERISA and benefits taxation. With 25 years of experience, she walks us through everything there is to know about what ERISA is, its interconnectedness with estate planning, and why attorneys who specialize in it are so rare. From small businesses to large corporations, Meredith handles it all, along with 3 teenage boys at home!

Why are ERISA attorneys so rare? What even is ERISA? How does she juggle 100 clients a year, balancing both work and family life?

CLICK HERE for more information about Meredith Sesser.

CLICK HERE for more information about Sesser Law.

Listen to Meredith’s story here.

 

Click here to read the transcript

Announcer 0:00
From Los Angeles. This is the Echelon Radio Network.

Jerri Hemsworth 0:10
Hi. This is Jerri Hemsworth with the Echelon radio podcast. And today we’re sitting with Meredith Sesser. How you doing?

Meredith Sesser 0:19
I’m doing great this morning.

Jerri Hemsworth 0:20
Okay, so Sesser law, ERISA, that is your specialty. E R, i, s, a.

Meredith Sesser 0:31
I love it.

Jerri Hemsworth 0:32
What is ERISA and not to be mistaken with a co worker named ERISA? No, what is ERISA?

Meredith Sesser 0:39
So, ERISA just turned 50. It was passed in 1974 so this was a big milestone year for ERISA, and I’ve been practicing 25 years, so half the life of ERISA. But ERISA is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and it’s really a bunch of rules that the government passed to protect people’s retirement benefits.

Jerri Hemsworth 1:04
Oh, wow.

Meredith Sesser 1:05
So before that, there was a lot of sketchy things going on with people’s retirement benefits, and they weren’t available when people retired. So now it’s highly regulated, so that when you retire, that pension is there for you and you can live off with it.

Jerri Hemsworth 1:20
Wow. Now you and I were just talking ERISA law, and attorneys who specialize in ERISA is pretty rare.

Meredith Sesser 1:30
Very rare. And the part that’s aging, or aging with ERISA are the lawyers. It’s been around 50 years, and many of these lawyers have been practicing 50 years when it was passed, and they’re getting to be in their 80s and retiring.

Jerri Hemsworth 1:46
And do you see a pipeline coming up, or is it just an area of law that a lot of people don’t know about?

Meredith Sesser 1:52
Unfortunately, there’s no class in law schools called ERISA law. So there’s not a pipeline of lawyers coming out into this field. There’s very few ERISA or pension lawyers, and it’s such a tight knit community that we tend to all know each other, because there’s so few of us. It is federal law, so it’s practiced the same in California as it is in New York.

Jerri Hemsworth 2:16
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 2:16
So my clients are across the United States because the rules are the same. So it’s an opportunity to work with all kinds of employers on their retirement plans.

Jerri Hemsworth 2:26
And does it matter what size plan? It can be, any size?

Meredith Sesser 2:30
Any size plan. So if you have one employee or 40,000 employees, the rules are the same.

Jerri Hemsworth 2:36
Whoa.

Meredith Sesser 2:37
So my clients range from small to large. And I apply the law to, you know, their retirement plan issues, and the IRS is the same whether it’s California or New York. And therefore I’m able to represent clients all over the country.

Jerri Hemsworth 2:54
That’s kind of cool, I would imagine. Because usually, if you’re practicing law in one state like California, you pretty much have to stay within the state first, actually, you know, state law, but for federal that, that would be kind of amazing and and because it’s so rare in LA, there’s what a handful?

Meredith Sesser 3:17
A handful of lawyers in LA that do what I do, and even less women that do what I do

Jerri Hemsworth 3:22
Really?

Meredith Sesser 3:23
Yeah. And so it’s a keeps me busy,

Jerri Hemsworth 3:26
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 3:26
Because there’s so few people to call in this area that understand it, and so few people that were trained by the gurus who’ve been doing it for 50 years. And luckily, I was trained by the top lawyers who understand this. However, this law evolves. Every year, there’s new tax laws, new rules that come into play. So you have to stay on your toes, and you know, be aware of what’s changing in the law.

Jerri Hemsworth 3:51
And when do when do clients call you? When do they need you?

Meredith Sesser 3:55
Well, I love for clients to call me ahead before there’s a problem. Doesn’t everybody? But a lot of times I get brought in when there’s a problem.

Jerri Hemsworth 4:04
Okay, at the company level, or at the employee level, or?

Meredith Sesser 4:08
Usually at the company level, but sometimes it’s an employee that calls the employer out on doing something wrong.

Jerri Hemsworth 4:14
Hang on.

Meredith Sesser 4:15
Wait a minute. What happened to my 401 K, money? It’s gone. Or, something doesn’t seem right.

Jerri Hemsworth 4:22
Yeah, so.

Meredith Sesser 4:23
Or the IRS or Department of Labor comes in and sends a letter.

Jerri Hemsworth 4:27
That’s a little knock, knock.

Meredith Sesser 4:28
Knock knock, and they call me and say, “What does this mean?” So there’s those issues. And then sometimes I get called in when a company’s selling, and they say, what happens to all these benefits when we sell?

Jerri Hemsworth 4:40
Transition.

Meredith Sesser 4:41
Transition, or we bought a company. What are we going to do now with all these new employees in the 401, K?

Jerri Hemsworth 4:48
Oh, gosh, interesting. Okay, all right. And there’s, there’s not a lot of people in California doing what you’re doing. And so I can imagine that’s your, your how, how many clients, new clients would you say you get on a monthly basis, an annual basis?

Meredith Sesser 5:08
So at any one time, I am working on probably 20 or 30 clients, and every year I’m bringing in about 100 clients to work on throughout the year.

Jerri Hemsworth 5:17
Holy moly!

Meredith Sesser 5:18
Yeah. There’s a lot of problems, and some things are quick, and some things could take years to resolve, so it just depends. And some clients I work with kind of like of counsel, type of in house, where they call me anytime something comes up.

Jerri Hemsworth 5:34
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 5:35
So I’m a resource to clients on an ongoing basis, and then ones who have a problem, who need to fix or need hand holding.

Jerri Hemsworth 5:42
And how did you get into ERISA? If you were you’ve been doing this 25 years. You don’t look like you’ve been doing this 25 years.

Meredith Sesser 5:50
Thank you.

Jerri Hemsworth 5:53
Wow, yeah. How did you get into ERISA? Since it’s so rare?

Meredith Sesser 5:57
Yeah, it is so rare. And I did not go to law school saying I want to be an ERISA lawyer, let alone know what ERISA was.

Jerri Hemsworth 6:03
What kind of attorney did you want to be, did you know?

Meredith Sesser 6:05
I was going to be an estate planner.

Jerri Hemsworth 6:06
Okay!

Meredith Sesser 6:07
And I was doing

Jerri Hemsworth 6:09
Kind of adjacent.

Meredith Sesser 6:10
Yes, I’m adjacent, both ease. I worked doing estate planning.

Jerri Hemsworth 6:15
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 6:15
And the firm I was at also did ERISA corporate and tax.

Jerri Hemsworth 6:20
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 6:21
And after I graduated law school, I said, you know, I think there’s enough estate planners and there’s enough corporate lawyers, definitely not enough ERISA lawyers. At that time, there were about a dozen in Los Angeles.

Jerri Hemsworth 6:34
That’s it?

Meredith Sesser 6:35
That was it. Short list. And I said, You know what? I’m going in that area. And I didn’t want to be a large law firm that was charging $1,000 an hour for a quick question. You know, I’m a believer that any size employer needs counsel, and I wanted to be that boutique law firm that could help smaller clients, the mom and dad shop that has one employee, but they still have that same 401k issue. They need representation, and I want to be able to help them as well.

Jerri Hemsworth 7:08
Nice.

Meredith Sesser 7:09
So that’s part of you know who I am, is wanting to help everybody, whether they’re small or large, and being a boutique firm, I’m able to do that and work with clients within their budget.

Jerri Hemsworth 7:21
So nice.

Meredith Sesser 7:22
Yeah, because the larger firms, you know, they charge more, and they’re good at what they do!

Jerri Hemsworth 7:28
Right.

Meredith Sesser 7:28
But it’s very hard to keep the cost down.

Jerri Hemsworth 7:30
Right. You were mentored by an attorney in LA and do you see yourself becoming a mentor to pass it, pass the torch to somebody else?

Meredith Sesser 7:43
Good question. I was mentored by, by an outstanding lawyer. He’s approaching 80, and he says that he’s so proud of me and how I turned out. And I would love to do that one day. It would be nice if one of my three sons wanted to be the person I mentor. Unfortunately, it’s not sexy to be an ERISA lawyer. Everyone wants to be a Hollywood entertainment type of lawyer.

Jerri Hemsworth 8:09
Yeah, until they burn out of that.

Meredith Sesser 8:10
Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth 8:11
Right?

Meredith Sesser 8:11
And I don’t even know if any of mine will be lawyers my sons, but it would be great. Unfortunately, you don’t get people coming out of law school saying, I want to be a benefits lawyer.

Jerri Hemsworth 8:20
Right, right.

Meredith Sesser 8:21
And if they do it, then they say, you know, this isn’t for me. I’m going to do something more sexy than ERISA law.

Jerri Hemsworth 8:27
Well, isn’t it interesting, because having interviewed quite a number of attorneys, a lot of people have gone into law with one thought of being a certain type of attorney, and then they get in and they see how it really works, and either through litigation or transactions or whatever it is, they immediately, they pretty quickly realize, ah, that’s not for me, I like this over here, and you were lucky to be in a firm that had the two different types of of clients.

Meredith Sesser 9:03
Yes.

Jerri Hemsworth 9:04
And so that would be an interesting conversation with younger attorneys. Do you get a chance to go and speak at classes or anything like that?

Meredith Sesser 9:16
I do speak a lot, not in law school. Unfortunately, most my speaking is educational, and I speak across the country, educating other people in this area.

Jerri Hemsworth 9:27
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 9:27
So I usually go into Washington or Florida, I was in Texas this year, educating other people about the changes in law and about what I do.

Jerri Hemsworth 9:38
Yes.

Meredith Sesser 9:38
But in law school, there’s no ERISA classes, it would probably be a tax class. And,

Jerri Hemsworth 9:43
Sure.

Meredith Sesser 9:44
You know, they just not enough interest to get people to sign up.

Jerri Hemsworth 9:49
They don’t even touch on it, one of those things where you got to sort of, they need to spread the word, because I don’t think retirement plans are going away.

Meredith Sesser 9:58
No, I think that they’re going to be around for a long time, the rules are always going to keep changing. I think you’re right, and I think that it’s an important area of law that people need to know about. There’s just so much room for mistake and error.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:12
Oh, it’s terrifying!

Meredith Sesser 10:13
It’s highly regulated.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:14
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 10:15
The penalties are huge.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:16
Wow.

Meredith Sesser 10:16
But if you have good counsel, you can avoid all that.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:19
Sure.

Meredith Sesser 10:20
I was always taught that a 401, K shouldn’t bankrupt a company. You know, you don’t want someone to say, I wish I never had this plan.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:27
Right.

Meredith Sesser 10:28
And the truth is, in California, if you have employees, you have to have a plan, some sort of plan.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:33
Yes.

Meredith Sesser 10:34
And therefore, someone’s got to advise on these rules.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:36
Right.

Meredith Sesser 10:37
And my job is really to take something complicated, like ERISA, and bring it back down to English, so that employers understand, it’s complicated.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:47
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 10:47
I understand it. I try to speak in English, not in code.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:51
Now, where did you go to school?

Meredith Sesser 10:54
I went to Loyola law school.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:56
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 10:56
And for undergrad, I was at UCLA.

Jerri Hemsworth 10:58
UCLA, what was your major at UCLA?

Meredith Sesser 11:00
Actually a psychology major, which you would think is not relevant, but actually is very relevant to dealing with clients from the IRS.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:08
Sure.

Meredith Sesser 11:09
There’s a lot of emotions in 401 Ks, I know it sounds crazy.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:14
No, you dealing with somebody’s money!

Meredith Sesser 11:15
But when you get a penalty letter for a million dollars.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:18
Yeah, hello!

Meredith Sesser 11:19
That’s a huge

Jerri Hemsworth 11:20
Ouch!

Meredith Sesser 11:20
issue.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:21
Yes.

Meredith Sesser 11:21
And if you can talk someone off a ledge and explain to them what this really means,

Jerri Hemsworth 11:25
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 11:25
and how we’ll get this abated. We’ll figure out what’s wrong, we’ll fix it,

Jerri Hemsworth 11:30
Oh, wow.

Meredith Sesser 11:30
you can calm people down.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:32
They can breathe again.

Meredith Sesser 11:33
And that what’s that’s what keeps me going.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:35
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 11:35
There’s thank you letters for thank you for explaining it. Thank you for holding my hand and making this go away.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:42
What made you originally want to be an estate planning attorney?

Meredith Sesser 11:47
Yeah, it’s a good question. I enjoyed the estate planning class in law school, and I got the highest grade in that class.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:53
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 11:54
So I said, I’m meant to do this.

Jerri Hemsworth 11:55
You knew? You were like, okay.

Meredith Sesser 11:57
I meant to do this. And then I got there, and while it’s interesting, retirement plans are also very large part of an estate.

Jerri Hemsworth 12:04
Right.

Meredith Sesser 12:04
It’s a piece of it.

Jerri Hemsworth 12:05
Absolutely.

Meredith Sesser 12:06
And you need to know what happens to retirement plans upon death as well. So I went from broad estate planning to something smaller, which is a piece of it, retirement plans.

Jerri Hemsworth 12:16
Right, because with when somebody retires, you’ve got Social Security, you’ve got whatever investments they’ve had, or 401 Ks, or any of that. And I know from my own experience in families, and when somebody passes what happens, and a lot of families don’t know all the inner workings of,

Meredith Sesser 12:38
Correct.

Jerri Hemsworth 12:39
what’s going on

Meredith Sesser 12:40
Or that they need a beneficiary. I have so many people call with old beneficiaries, leaving it to their ex spouse, or, you know, leaving it to someone other than their spouse and not getting consent. Or, you know, people don’t always expect to die, and they don’t always have things set up properly in advance, so the retirement plan could be a big asset in the estate, and you have to pay attention to it.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:05
Huge. So you having knowledge in estate planning and estate law is really super beneficial to you.

Meredith Sesser 13:14
It actually does help.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:16
My gosh.

Meredith Sesser 13:17
Yes.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:17
And psychology, like you said.

Meredith Sesser 13:19
Absolutely helps, because your clients are people.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:22
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 13:22
They’re not just businesses, and you really sometimes have to calm people down, and once they understand what all of this means, then they can be calm.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:33
So you, you started your own firm.

Meredith Sesser 13:36
I did. I started in 2018.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:38
Okay.

Meredith Sesser 13:39
So I’m going on next year will be my seventh year. I can’t believe it. Started my own firm, and I’m in Encino, California.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:48
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 13:49
And it’s been great. I’ve been very successful and lucky.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:53
And, and you mentioned your boys. You’re a mom of three boys who are now teenagers.

Meredith Sesser 13:58
Yes.

Jerri Hemsworth 13:59
Late teens, actually.

Meredith Sesser 14:00
Late teens, yes, my oldest is 19 in college, and when I started practicing, I did not have kids at all.

Jerri Hemsworth 14:09
Right.

Meredith Sesser 14:09
So I feel like these three boys have gone all the way through with me, and they probably still have no idea what I do or what ERISA is, nor do they care.

Jerri Hemsworth 14:19
They’re like, “yeah, it’s something like that.”

Meredith Sesser 14:21
Yeah, my mom’s a lawyer.

Jerri Hemsworth 14:22
Yeah, my mom’s an attorney.

Meredith Sesser 14:23
Yeah, she’s a lawyer. What does she do? I don’t know.

Jerri Hemsworth 14:26
It’s something complicated.

Meredith Sesser 14:27
Yes, something complicated, but that’s okay. And my other two are my twins, are 16 in high school now.

Jerri Hemsworth 14:34
And you, like you said, you weren’t a mom when you started this, and then you started your own firm, and you were kind of like stay at home mom and running a business, how and now that they’re independent, how has that changed you as a an attorney, as a mom, as a business woman, because I know from my own experience, the brain is split when they’re young. You know.

Meredith Sesser 15:02
Yes, absolutely.

Jerri Hemsworth 15:03
And now you have a little more time to focus on you and your firm. Do you see differences in how you’ve you’ve grown or shifted?

Meredith Sesser 15:13
I think I’ve always been a workaholic. I remember working in the hospital when my kids were born. I remember being on bed rest for six weeks with my twins, and I worked from bed rest. You know, when you have deals that are going through and they need you?

Jerri Hemsworth 15:29
Sure.

Meredith Sesser 15:29
I’m there. I think now that my kids are independent and drive, it actually allows me to work more and so, you know, with COVID and having home offices and other offices, sometimes you work seven days a week.

Jerri Hemsworth 15:45
Sure.

Meredith Sesser 15:46
I’m that person that wants to get back to my client right away, because I’d like to have people get back to me right away.

Jerri Hemsworth 15:53
Sure.

Meredith Sesser 15:53
So I’m able to do it. But as a mom of three boys, I’ve learned to multitask, and multitasking is a great quality, and I never put my clients second. You know, I love my kids, but I’m able to do both, and I always have.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:10
Yeah, you’ve got that brain that allows you to do that.

Meredith Sesser 16:12
I don’t know if it’s a female thing, that’s a mom thing, but it allows me to do.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:17
I think it’s a I think it’s a mom thing. I think it’s a female thing. I think it’s a female thing. I think it’s a Meredith thing.

Meredith Sesser 16:22
It is a Meredith thing.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:23
You know, in that that not everybody can do it, and you’re just gifted to be able to.

Meredith Sesser 16:27
Oh, thank you.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:28
I mean, seriously.

Meredith Sesser 16:29
I really try to get everything done, yeah, including not missing my kids basketball games, but then maybe working from the parking lot on a client case before I walk into the game. It’s no calls during the game.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:42
You’re in the, you’re in the, you’re in the car.

Meredith Sesser 16:44
Yes,

Jerri Hemsworth 16:44
That’s the other,

Meredith Sesser 16:45
I’ll make it happen.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:46
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 16:47
Absolutely.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:48
That’s the beauty of running your own firm, isn’t it?

Meredith Sesser 16:50
Exactly.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:50
You have the ability to be there for your kids.

Meredith Sesser 16:53
Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth 16:53
They really need you.

Meredith Sesser 16:54
And and working at a law firm before they allowed me to be there for my kids, which was really nice. So I would go to mommy and me and then to the office.

Jerri Hemsworth 17:03
Excellent.

Meredith Sesser 17:04
Yes. So that multitasking,

Jerri Hemsworth 17:06
Gymboree, hear me out, yeah.

Meredith Sesser 17:07
Multitasking, you know, it’s a, it’s a big quality I have.

Jerri Hemsworth 17:11
Yes. So are you, I’ve heard you are really involved with you UCLA alumni events, or is it that you just, you just promote UCLA. I’ve heard you,

Meredith Sesser 17:24
I love UCLA.

Jerri Hemsworth 17:25
Love, love, love.

Meredith Sesser 17:26
I do love UCLA. None of my kids will probably go there. That’s okay.

Jerri Hemsworth 17:32
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 17:32
But I think being that I went to Loyola and UCLA in Los Angeles has been helpful to me for resources that are in Los Angeles.

Jerri Hemsworth 17:41
Yes.

Meredith Sesser 17:42
Because I’m here, a lot of my clients are here. So it’s a good resource for alumni, for other lawyers, you know, and networking, and that’s helpful.

Jerri Hemsworth 17:52
A number of lawyers that I know now went to UCLA,

Meredith Sesser 17:56
Yeah,

Jerri Hemsworth 17:56
and I can imagine the that that’s a really great resource.

Meredith Sesser 18:00
Yeah, it’s great being that I’ve been in Los Angeles my whole life.

Jerri Hemsworth 18:04
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 18:04
So that you run into people that maybe you went to high school with, but now they’re an accountant, and you do work with them.

Jerri Hemsworth 18:12
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 18:12
So I’ve been very fortunate. I have clients that I’ve known since elementary school that became clients, and I said, I remember you from elementary school. So my referral sources come, you know, from all over the place. A lot of it’s word of mouth, but sometimes it’s another lawyer or an accountant.

Jerri Hemsworth 18:30
Right.

Meredith Sesser 18:31
Or somebody I graduated school with, and they refer me because you don’t usually Google ERISA lawyer and find one.

Jerri Hemsworth 18:39
Right.

Meredith Sesser 18:39
And I’ll tell you, if you Google it, you’re not going to get a whole list of people, and you’re not going to find me on the back of a bus or a billboard.

Jerri Hemsworth 18:46
Right, no.

Meredith Sesser 18:48
So usually it’s you need to know somebody who can refer you in because your’re so specialized.

Jerri Hemsworth 18:53
And the other a lot of those professionals know, okay, there’s not a lot of these, but I do know a couple.

Meredith Sesser 19:01
I know a few, yeah. And the other thing that’s nice is that someone will say, I remember you from 10 years ago. You did something for me. I need you again.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:09
Wow.

Meredith Sesser 19:09
So I get a lot of those calls as well.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:11
That’s nice.

Meredith Sesser 19:11
Because they remember me, and there’s just not a lot, there’s no one else to call!

Jerri Hemsworth 19:16
Yeah, right.

Meredith Sesser 19:17
So I picked a good niche.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:19
Nice.

Meredith Sesser 19:19
Yes.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:20
Well done, Meredith.

Meredith Sesser 19:21
And I would love for somebody to take it over one day.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:24
I was going to say, the pipeline.

Meredith Sesser 19:26
We will see.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:27
Start the mentoring, yeah, start looking for those mentees.

Meredith Sesser 19:30
Yes.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:30
Right?

Meredith Sesser 19:31
Yes.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:31
I hear you, 100%.

Meredith Sesser 19:33
It’s an exciting area of law. I really enjoy it. It’s almost like a puzzle..

Jerri Hemsworth 19:38
Yeah.

Meredith Sesser 19:39
It’s not, yes, there’s a manual, but the manual is not black and white. You don’t always know what it means.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:44
That makes sense.

Meredith Sesser 19:45
And so to me, it’s a puzzle, and trying to make it work and figure it out for your clients, so it keeps you on your toes.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:52
And they’ve got to be so grateful,

Meredith Sesser 19:54
I hope so.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:55
I can’t imagine being in their shoes,

Meredith Sesser 19:57
Yeah.

Jerri Hemsworth 19:57
and feeling desperate and frightened, and didn’t terrified, all that. And having you on the case, literally,

Meredith Sesser 20:06
it helps to turn this, these issues, over to someone who’s an expert and understands it and says, “you know what, you take care of this, so I can do my day job.” And that’s what I’m here for. Is a resource to handhold, to explain, to walk people through.

Jerri Hemsworth 20:21
Excellent. Thanks for being with me today.

Meredith Sesser 20:24
Thank you.

Jerri Hemsworth 20:24
I am so I am always mystified at how you do it, and I enjoy watching you doing

Meredith Sesser 20:34
Thank you.

Jerri Hemsworth 20:34
do this ERISA law, and because you and I have known each other for years

Meredith Sesser 20:39
Probably over 20 years.

Jerri Hemsworth 20:40
Yeah, when you were at the other firm, and I think even before you had kids, yeah, definitely, yes. So kudos. Well done.

Meredith Sesser 20:48
Thank you.

Jerri Hemsworth 20:49
Thanks.

Announcer 21:01
Presented by Echelon Business Development, more than just networking, way more.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Meredith represents employers in Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) controversies, including investigations, audits, and voluntary compliance to prevent or correct plan disqualification and fiduciary breaches (EPCRS, VCP, DFVCP and VFCP). She counsels clients on inadvertent filing errors, resolves inaccuracies, and works vigorously to successfully abate IRS penalties charged to employers with late or negligent filings of Form 5500 (Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan). In addition, she advises employers on employee benefit claims. Meredith provides advice on business structuring and employment relationships, including how to determine and analyze controlled and affiliated groups as well as leased and staff employees, to ensure that a business owner’s retirement benefits are not subject to scrutiny by the IRS. She is the “go-to” lawyer for many third-party administrators.

As CEO and Creative Director at Newman Grace, Jerri leads one of Los Angeles’ most respected marketing firm and brand communication firms. Newman Grace has been providing marketing, brand and advertising consulting, graphic design, and social media services to growing companies since 1996. Newman Grace serves the professional services, manufacturing, sports, publishing and non-profit markets. Jerri is an adjunct professor in the School of Media, Culture and Design at Woodbury University. She is also a co-founder of Echelon Business Development Network. Learn more about Jerri here at Newman Grace.