Danita N.Merlau

Partner

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Danita helps clients navigate the intricacies of ERISA to develop comprehensive compliance strategies and achieve desired operational outcomes.


More About Danita

Sophisticated clients turn to Danita for guidance on a diverse range of issues arising out of the design and administration of their health and welfare plans. With broad experience advising companies on all aspects of such plans, Danita helps clients understand the complex statutory and regulatory regime governing employee benefits, interpreting and applying technical regulations and agency guidance to assist clients in making sound business decisions against an ever-shifting legal landscape.

Specifically, Danita counsels clients on plan formation and design, provides compliance and implementation advice, negotiates key contracts with vendors and third party administrators and troubleshoots benefits issues as they arise for her clients. Danita frequently engages with the Department of Labor and IRS on behalf of employers and plan fiduciaries and assists with significant corporate and plan spinoff and merger transactions.

Danita is co-chair of the Employee Benefits department’s Health and Welfare POD (i.e., specialty group), for which she closely tracks statutory, regulatory and judicial developments in this space.

  • JD, Indiana University Maurer School of Law

    Cum laude
    Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, executive editor

  • BA, Purdue University

    With honors

Certifications

  • Certified Health Care Institute (HCI) professional, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2022)
  • Illinois
  • Indiana