Attorney and operations consultant Cynthia Marcotte Stamer uses a client objective oriented approach to help businesses, associations, governments and their leaders develop, use and defend legal and other strategies to manage legal, operational and other risks, to enhance business and operational effectiveness, to reengineer people, processes and culture, and to solve other problems. When working with clients, Cindy combines her in-depth experience with human resources and employee benefits, health care, insurance and risk management, corporate operations and compliance, and other legal and operational experience with a healthy dose of common sense to assist clients to formulate pragmatic business and legal operational and risk management strategies taking into account the financial, operational, political, legal and other realities confronting the client. She has a proven track record providing exceptional counsel and service to her clients. Her knowledge of the law and pragmatic understanding of business environments enable her to quickly respond and take action to her client's needs by bringing solutions to problems and foresight of best practices to capitalize on opportunities relating to regulatory compliance, Federal and state laws governing the operations, restructuring, and complexities of doing business in the rapidly changing, fast paced business environments today.

Effective management of internal and external personnel performance is critical to the success of any corporation's operational or corporate compliance strategy. A Martindale-Hubble AV-rated attorney board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Cindy has more than 19 years experience helping organizations and business leaders to develop, implement and defend creative strategies for using legal and organizational compliance, internal control, performance, motivation and discipline, compensation, workforce transition, insurance, risk shifting and other tools to manage their people and operations-related risks and the performance of their internal and external resources and processes.

Cindy applies her skills and experiences to assist businesses and business leaders in managing risks and improving business effectiveness in a broad range of industries and general and specific contexts. She advises and represents public and private employers, staffing, outsourcing and other workforce organizations on real time basis about all aspects of employment, labor, employee benefit, and worker's compensation matters. Her experience encompasses both counseling and representing clients about core employment, labor, and employee benefit requirements, as well as processes for managing other compliance and operational risks arising from their business operations. Experienced in all aspects of labor, employment and employee benefits law, Cindy advises and represents public and private employers, staffing, outsourcing and other workforce organizations on real time basis about all aspects of employment, labor, employee benefit, and worker's compensation laws including the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, OHSA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, privacy, worker classification, privacy and data security, the Drug Enforcement Act and other drug and alcohol testing, the Fair Labor Standards Act and related overtime and pay laws, Title VII, the ADA, the Civil Rights Act, the Pregnancy Act and other employment discrimination laws, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other background and internal investigation regulations, the False Claims Act and other Federal and state whistleblower laws, federal immigration laws, the National Labor Relations Act and other traditional labor laws, unemployment compensation, and other related employment and labor laws and regulations.

Cindy also regularly advises for-profit and non-profit, public and private organizations and their leaders about their risks and responsibilities under Federal and state civil and criminal laws affecting their operations and human resources and other operational strategies to manage these risks. She has worked extensively on compliance and liability management under a broad range of Federal and state civil and criminal laws, including Federal Sentencing Guideline and compliance concerns Sarbanes-Oxley and other securities laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Patriot Act, copyright and other intellectual property laws, the Bank Secrecy Act, Federal and state health care, insurance, environmental, antitrust, cyber crime and technology, banking, and a host of other laws and regulations. She has counseled, assisted, and represented public and private businesses, governmental entities and others with the conduct of internal investigations under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and other laws. She also has assisted organizations and their leaders to report and redress known or suspected violations, to determine and impose discipline, to negotiate settlements with government officials, and to develop and administer corporate integrity and other compliance strategies.

Cindy helps clients identify and use employment, employee benefit, contracting and outsourcing, accountability and surveillance, technology and other legal and operational tools to monitor and manage behavior and risks. She advises boards and business leaders about redesign of their personnel, board and business decision-making, vendor selection and contracting, technology, internal investigation, training and other management processes to enhance operational predictability and manage liabilities. She drafts and reviews employee handbooks, employee benefit and compensation plans, employment and other services contracts, ethics policies, settlement agreements, and other associated documents. She also advises and represents businesses and business leaders in connection with the investigation, redress and resolution of regulatory, contractual, and other enforcement concerns involving governmental agencies, private claimants, or both. She also helps organizations and their leaders to identify and use the legal strategies to promote business goals and manage risks. Recognizing the critical necessity of protecting her clients intellectual property and avoiding trade secret infringement exposures, for instance, Cindy regularly assists businesses to craft, interpret, and enforce, non-competition, non-solicitation, trade secret, nondisclosure, confidentiality, and other policies and agreements to protect core intellectual property. Her experience includes significant ongoing experience working with domestic and multinational, public and private, health care, insurance, employee benefits, energy, technology, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, government, and other organizations about the prevention, investigation and resolution risk arising from operational and regulatory compliance, employment, investor, vendor, customer and public relations, and other concerns arising in connection with suspected or confirmed violations of applicable Federal and state statutes and regulations, contracts or corporate policies.

A member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Bureau of National Affairs Employee Benefits CD, Cindy also has detailed and extensive knowledge of the specialized requirements and concerns affecting the design, documentation, administration and defense of employee benefit, compensation, and fringe benefit matters under ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, the Internal Revenue Code, securities and insurance, and other laws and regulations. Chair of both the American Bar Association (ABA) Real Property, Probate & Trust Section's Welfare Plan Committee and the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group, Cindy represents and advises employers, insurers, managed care plans, third party administrators and other vendors, and others about the design, documentation, communication, administration, cost-containment and defense of managed care, defined contribution, HSA, HRA, health, life, disability, accident, 24-hour coverage, severance, wellness, EAP, cafeteria, dependent care assistance and other welfare benefit programs including cutting edge defined contribution, high deductible, deductible reimbursement, and other cutting edge managed care and insurance strategies. She regularly counsels employers about the design, documentation, administration and defense of qualified and nonqualified deferred compensation programs including 401(k), 403(b), 457, defined benefit pension, equity compensation and other executive and employee benefit programs. She also has extensive experience drafting, reviewing, negotiating, and enforcing plan documents, summary plan descriptions, third party administration and other services agreements. She also assists businesses to evaluate, minimize, and defend against employee benefit and employment liabilities arising out of multi-employer plan withdrawals, vendor contract terminations, mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and other business events and transactions. She also works with employee benefit plans, their fiduciaries and vendors, and business leaders on designing, documenting employee benefit plans and practices in light of applicable ERISA fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction and other legal requirements and risks.

Cindy also advises and represents businesses and governments about emerging and proposed legislative and statutory reforms. She advises on and represents businesses and business leaders before federal and state regulators including the Department of Labor, the Employee Benefits Services Administration, the Wage & Hour Board, the Internal Revenue Services, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, OSHA, worker's compensation commissions, and other federal and state regulators. She also counsels and represents employers and other business leaders in evaluating, commenting on, and pursuing modifications to applicable federal and state employment, health care, insurance, safety, education, privacy, and other laws. Her experience includes extensive involvement in federal and state employment, health and other benefit, immigration, workforce, technology, and education legislative and regulatory reforms. In addition to her extensive involvement in federal and state domestic policy concerns, Cindy also has international experience. Cindy served as a primary advisor and drafter for the Government of Bolivia on its Social Security Privatization law. She has provided input to U.S. and Mexican governmental and business leaders concerning proposed reforms to migration, workforce, benefits, health care, transportation, and ethics policies. She also has worked extensively within the U.S. and abroad on workforce and other legislative and regulatory policies and enforcement concerns impacting U.S. businesses around the world.

A highly popular and entertaining speaker, Cindy also helps businesses to operationalize their risk management and compliance strategies by conducting officer, director and employee training. She regularly provides training, counseling, representation to entrepreneurs and established businesses and their founders, officers, and directors on a wide range of day-to-day legal and business operational and risk management concerns. She regularly helps public and private, for-profit and non-profit health, insurance, technology, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and other organizations establish and administer effective operational, corporate ethics and compliance, human resources, risk management, compensation, and employee benefits strategies. She has assisted business to manage special technology related risks including cybercrime, HIPAA, Graham-Leech-Bliley, technology transfer, the Patriot Act, and other laws. She also has worked extensively with technology, international, manufacturing, environmental, banking and investment, and retail businesses on a host of operational and compliance concerns. Her experience includes advice and representation of domestic and international organizations, including public and private, and for-profit and non-profit organizations.

Cindy is nationally and internationally sought out for her strategic knowledge and insights on operational and technical health care, insurance, and risk management concerns. Her insights have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the BNA Pension and Benefits Reporter, the Dallas Business Journal, the Houston Business Journal, Modern Health Care, Managed Healthcare Executive, Health Leaders, Caring for The Elderly Magazine, For The Record, the Dallas Morning News, Spencer Publications and others.

A widely published author and highly sought-after speaker recognized for her ability to share highly complex or technical information in practical, easy to understand terms, Cindy is the author of hundreds of articles, training programs, workshops and toolkits. Deeply committed to community and professional service, Cindy also serves in numerous professional and civil leadership roles and editorial advisory boards.

Cindy earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 1987 and her B.S., Arizona State University, 1984. Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, she is admitted to Practice in Arizona, Texas, the United States Tax Court, and various Federal courts.