Kristi focuses her practice on the areas of ERISA and employee benefits, employment and labor law, and business and finance. She reviews and consults on a variety of qualified plan issues, including drafting, revising, and terminating 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, ESOPs and pension plans. Kristi also assists plan sponsors in evaluating and cost-effectively resolving a wide range of plan failures, including drafting complicated correction applications under the IRS Voluntary Correction Program when necessary. She advises plan sponsors and others on a variety of employee benefits and qualified and non-qualified plan issues, including those related to mergers and acquisitions, trusts and estates (in particular with respect to required minimum distributions), welfare plan compliance (including ACA), and Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, among other aspects of employment law.

Prior to practicing law, Kristi was an English Language Center faculty member at Brigham Young University, where she taught English as a second language to adult international students and oversaw the second language writing curriculum.

When she is not at work, Kristi enjoys an active life. She is an avid Arizona Wildcats fan, and enjoys hiking and running. She also loves spending time with her family and is an avid reader.

• J.D., magna cum laude, Duke University School of Law
• M.A. Brigham Young University
• B.A., magna cum laude, Utah State University

OTHER EXPERIENCE

• Estate Planning
• Private Client and Wealth Preservation

• Southwest Rising Stars^®, Employee Benefits, 2021

• Interview, “American Rescue Plan Act adds new rules to COBRA,” Arizona PBS, May 5, 2021
• Co-author, “The New Mandatory COBRA Subsidy: What Employers Need to Know,” InBusiness, April 28, 2021
• Co-author, “Employers Required to Temporarily Subsidize COBRA Premiums Subject to Reimbursement,” Fennemore Client Alert, April 6, 2021
• Co-author, “New COVID-19 Legislation Provides Partial Plan Termination Relief,” Mondaq, January 8, 2021
• Co-author, “New COVID-19 Legislation Provides Partial Plan Termination Relief,” Fennemore Client Alert, January 7, 2021
• Co-author, “IRS Issues Initial Guidance on The SECURE Act,” Fennemore Client Alert, October 5, 2020
• Co-author, “Department of Labor Announces New Safe Harbor for Electronic Communications to Participants of Qualified Retirement Plans,” Fennemore Client Alert, May 22, 2020
• Co-author, “DOL and IRS Issue New Coronavirus-Related Guidance and Relief for Employee Benefit Plans,” Fennemore Client Alert, April 30, 2020
• Co-author, “The CARES Act: Implications for Health and Welfare Benefits,” Fennemore Client Alert, April 20, 2020
• Co-author, “Frequently Asked Questions About Unemployment and Employee Retention Provisions in The CARES Act,” Fennemore Client Alert, April 16, 2020
• Co-author, “The SECURE Act: What Employers Sponsoring Retirement Plans Need to Know,” InBusiness, April 1, 2020
• Co-author, “The CARES Act: Implications for Qualified Retirement Plans,” Fennemore Client Alert, March 30, 2020
• Co-author, “COVID-19: Health Plan Coverage For Furloughed Employees,” Fennemore Client Alert, March 26, 2020
• Co-author, “Understanding the Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Fennemore Client Alert, March 20, 2020
• Co-author, “HIPAA Implications of COVID-19,” Fennemore Client Alert, March 20, 2020
• Co-author, “COVID-19 Testing and Treatment: Copays, Deductibles, and HSA Complications,” Fennemore Client Alert, March 19, 2020
• Co-author, “The SECURE Act: What Plan Sponsors Need to Know” Fennemore Client Alert, February 7, 2020
• Co-author, “Final Hardship Regulations: Operational Changes and Plan Amendments,” Fennemore Client Alert, December 18, 2019
• Co-author, “Attention Arizona Small Employers:  Don’t Let Arizona’s New Mini COBRA Law Bite You!” Fennemore Client Alert, November 2018
• Co-author, “DOL’s Fiduciary Rule Vacated by the Fifth Circuit: The Latest Twist in a Never-Ending Story,” Fennemore Client Alert, March 2018
• Co-author, “Death, Taxes, and the Affordable Care Act’s Individual and Employer Mandates: Taxpayers and Employers Still Have Important Obligations Under the ACA,” Fennemore Client Alert, January 2018
• Co-author, “QSEHRA Update: IRS Provides Promised Additional guidance for Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements,” Fennemore Client Alert, November 2017
• Co-author, “HSAs: More Than Healthcare,” InBusiness, October 2017
• Co-author, “Don’t Look an IRS Gift Horse in the Mouth: Two Valuable Opportunities for 403(b) Plan Sponsors in 2017,” Fennemore Client Alert, August 24, 2017
• Speaker, “Benefits Update: The Affordable Care Act Survives Again, but What is Next for Health Care Reform (and Other Employee Benefits Issues Affected by the New Administration in Washington)?” Fennemore Labor and Employment Seminar, May 4, 2017
• Co-author, “The Rebirth of Standalone HRAs for Employers After ACA,” GLSA, April 2017
• Co-author, “Filing Your 2016 Tax Return? The ACA’s Individual Mandate and Penalties Still Apply,” Fennemore Client Alert, March 7, 2017
• Speaker, “What Every Professional Needs To Know About Health & Welfare Plans,” Western Pension & Benefits Council Spring Conference, April 28, 2016

• President, Western Pension and Benefits Council, Phoenix Chapter

• Arizona