Actuarial assumptions come with potentially dramatic consequences for benefit plans, making it essential that plan sponsors and their actuaries have a relationship that is built on more than just trust. What questions should plan sponsors ask? How should actuarial reporting be structured? What guardrails should be in place to help avoid mistakes?
Two litigators who have led high-stakes benefit cases and recently took an actuarial malpractice case to a jury trial will answer these questions, provide concrete steps for protecting against valuation mistakes, and offer guidance for identifying and addressing problems before they turn into a crisis.
About the Speaker
Cy Smith is a partner with Zuckerman Spaeder, a premier national litigation firm that has won Law360’s Benefits Practice Group of the Year award three times. He has three decades of trial experience and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, primarily representing plaintiffs and defendants in large, complex civil litigation in diverse industries such as financial services and healthcare. Cy’s recent representation of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) resulted in the health system receiving a $41.5 million settlement in a headline-making actuarial malpractice case, and he has represented other plan sponsors and fiduciaries in pension litigation. Law360 named Cy a 2022 Benefits MVP for his work on the UPMC case and other high-profile matters, and the Delaware Court of Chancery said his work over the years is “an exemplar of exactly how entrepreneurial plaintiffs’ contingent fee litigation ought to work.” Cy earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. from Dartmouth College.
Sara Lawson is a Zuckerman Spaeder partner who represents businesses and individuals in high-stakes commercial disputes, criminal litigation, and government investigations. Her clients include a major health system, health care organizations and providers, and senior leaders from a diverse range of businesses. Together with Cy Smith, Sara led the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) actuarial malpractice lawsuit, which was one of the most important recent legal cases related to benefit plan valuation mistakes. She has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for White Collar Criminal Defense every year since 2017. Sara earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law and her B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University.
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