Bethany A. Bacci

Experience

Bethany Bacci is a partner in the firm's Portland office who specializes in various aspects of employee benefits law.

Bethany assists public and private employers in achieving their human capital and compensation objectives with advice on a wide array of tax and fiduciary matters affecting qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive compensation. Bethany advises on the implications of the ongoing changes in health care reform for both employers and employer-sponsored plans and the regulatory issues associated with maintaining welfare benefit programs. She has represented plan sponsors in devising, negotiating, and implementing changes to employee benefit plans to address tax qualification issues, aligning plan design with business objectives, and mitigating risk through use of the IRS and Department of Labor (DOL) correction procedures. She assists clients with identifying potential liability and opportunities for synergy in corporate transactions and regularly handles plan spinoffs and mergers.

When not focusing on her benefits practice, Bethany serves as president of Stoel Rives' Coaching and Mentoring Committee (Portland) and represents pro bono clients on a variety of issues through the Stoel Rives night clinic and Multnomah County Legal Aid. In 2008, Bethany won the firm's pro bono award in recognition of her service.

Professional Honors & Activities

• Listed in Best Lawyers in America® (currently: Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law), 2013
• Listed among Rising Stars^SM (Employee Benefits-ERISA), Oregon Super Lawyers®, 2009-2011
• Board of Directors, president, 2012-2013, other board positions, 2007-2012, Western Pension and Benefits Council, Portland Chapter
• Member, Tax Section and Health Care Law Section, American Bar Association

Presentations

• "GAME CHANGE 2014: Are You and Your Employees Ready?," Stoel Rives LLP, May 2013
• "Updated Health Care Reform Guidance, Including Play or Pay: How to Prepare Your Business," Oregon Petroleum Association, March 2013
• Panelist, "ACA & Employers: What They Need To Know," State of Reform Oregon Health Policy Conference, Dec. 2012
• "Health Care Reform: Group Health Plan Update 2012,"  Stoel Rives LLP, Oct. 2012
• "Health Care Reform: Group Health Plan Update 2011,"  Stoel Rives LLP, Sept. 2011
• "What You Need to Know About Recent Health Care Reform Legislation: Implications for Employers and Employer-Sponsored Health Plans," Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), 2011
• "Health Care Reform: Implications for Oregon Petroleum Association Employers," 2010
• "COBRA and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," SHRM, 2009
• "Fiduciary Issues in Switching Plan Providers," WP&BC Spring Seminar, 2009
• "Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)," Lorman Education Services, 2006

Civic Activities

• Board of Directors, Oregon Lawyers Against Hunger, 2005-present, President, 2009-2012

Education

• Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, J.D., cum laude
  Notes & Comments editor, The Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law
  Articles editor, The Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law
• Stanford University, B.A., art history

Admissions

• Oregon
• Washington

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