ABOUT: Julie Selesnick has been practicing law since 2001, during which time she has amassed a wealth of experience in high-stakes dispute resolution. She has represented clients on both sides of the aisle, from major corporations to small businesses, labor unions, individuals, and class plaintiffs. An experienced litigator, Julie has led jury and bench trials as first chair, helping clients recover more than $91 million through settlements and verdicts. 

The passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (“CAA”) had a profound effect on health plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and governmental health plans operated by municipalities, counties, school boards and states. Responding to this sea change in the health plan statutory environment, Julie opened Health Plan Legal Counsel, where she provides legal and compliance counsel to plan sponsors and fiduciaries, Taft-Hartley trustees and coalitions, and vendors servicing group health plans. She provides advice and counsel on regulatory and fiduciary compliance with ERISA, CAA, HIPAA, mental health parity and other applicable governmental regulations and legislation, and on litigation decisions affecting plan obligations. Julie also provides fiduciary education, training and guidance as part of an overall litigation and enforcement risk avoidance strategy. Additionally, she continues to challenge improper benefit denials, fiduciary breaches, deceptive business practices, and other consumer, antitrust, and contract law violations through her association as an Of Counsel at Berger Montague. 

Using a strategic approach, Julie helps clients negotiate service agreements with the country’s largest insurance carriers and PBMs, secure access to participant claims data for proper plan administration and enforce compensation transparency from plan service providers. She also helps clients design RFIs and RFPs to vet new and existing service providers. Plan sponsors and health plan service providers frequently retain Julie for guidance in aligning fiduciary best practices with innovative procurement and legal strategies. Julie especially enjoys thinking “outside the box” for new ways to help clients design, administer and manage legally compliant, cost-effective health plans that provide affordable, high-quality health care to hardworking employees and their families.