Lisa Dursey

Attorney – Of Counsel

Lisa Dursey
Direct: (206) 618-9363
Office: (602) 282-0313
E-mail: [email protected]

Lisa Dursey advises employers on the design, administration, and implementation of all types of employee benefits plans. She is passionate about providing comprehensive, easily digestible, and pragmatic advice for her clients. Clients seek her guidance to help them realize the maximum value from their employee benefit programs.

Lisa assists clients with a wide range of benefits matters, including qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, executive compensation programs, health and welfare programs, and other fringe benefit programs. She regularly advises employers on design changes to their benefit plans to address regulatory updates and to optimize the company’s benefit offerings. Lisa is experienced in helping plan sponsors correct operational failures, including through corrective filings with the IRS and Department of Labor when necessary.

Lisa excels in preparing clear and concise plan documentation that facilitates smooth plan administration. Clients also seek her assistance to prepare communications to employees that succinctly explain the employer’s benefit offerings.

She is well positioned to assist companies across all industries, and has recently worked with clients in the healthcare, shipping, transportation, oil and gas, and manufacturing industries, as well as non-profits. She has strong experience with the issues arising in both union and non-union contexts.

Lisa and Erwin bring a team approach to each client and each matter, allowing us to apply the necessary expertise to solve clients’ ERISA and employee benefits-related legal issues as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Prior to joining ERISA Benefits Law, Lisa practiced at Stoel Rives in Seattle, and Alston & Bird in New York.

Education and Recognition

  • J.D., cum laude, Boston University, 2012
    • Dean’s Scholar
    • Hennessey Distinguished Scholar
  • B.A., with honors, Cornell University, 2008

Admissions and Community Activities

  • Member, State Bar of Washington
  • Member, State Bar of New York
  • Member, Board of Directors, Western Pension and Benefits Council– Seattle Chapter (2016-2019)
  • Member, Western Pension and Benefits Council (2020-present)
  • Member, Steven W. Phillips Tucson Tax Study Group (2020-present)

Representative Clients and Experience

  • Advise plan sponsors on self-correction of administrative errors and negotiate compliance statements with the Internal Revenue Service.
  • Prepare plan documentation, including plan documents, amendments, and policies.
  • Prepare employee communications, including summary plan descriptions, summaries of material modifications, letters to employees explaining the correction of operational errors, etc.
  • Assist in the resolution of benefit claims and appeals, including interpreting plan provisions, preparing analyses for review by a plan administrator, and drafting letters to participants explaining claim or appeal determinations.
  • Conduct fiduciary training for corporate executives who serve on benefit plan committees.
  • Revise fiduciary oversight structure for benefit plans.
  • Review investment policies and negotiate agreements with investment advisors and investment managers.
  • Negotiate service agreements with benefit administration firms.
  • Revise executive benefit arrangements to comply with Internal Revenue Code section 409A.
  • Advise state university regarding retirement plan compliance with Internal Revenue Code section 403(b).
  • Advise Fortune 500 company with respect to ongoing administration of qualified pension plan ($2 billion fund) covering multiple populations of acquired employees, maintain favorable determination letter for the plan and oversee correction of complex administrative errors discovered during post-merger integration and transitions between administrators.

Articles and Presentations

  • HUB University 2019 Employee Benefits Legal Updates, HUB International & Stoel Rives; Portland, Oregon; Spokane, Bellingham, Washington; Bellevue, Washington; Feb. – March 2019
  • Back to School Briefing – Employment and ERISA Issues Impacting Every Employer’s Semester, Stoel Rives Breakfast Briefing Series, Boise, Idaho, Sept. 2017
  • Disability Claims and Appeals Pop-Up, Western Pension & Benefit Council– Seattle Chapter, May 30, 2018