Photo of Heather M. Mehta

Heather M. Mehta

Officer

“As a benefits lawyer, my work can involve a lot of client interaction on a daily or weekly basis. If a client tells me they have a deadline, I take that very seriously. They have a problem — sometimes big, sometimes small — and we help.” 

Admissions

  • Missouri
  • Illinois
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Education

J.D., Washington University School of Law, magna cum laude, 2011, Order of the Coif

M.S. in Education, Mercy College, 2006, with distinction

B.A., Wake Forest University, summa cum laude, 2001, Phi Beta Kappa

Profile

Heather Mehta’s experience in both employee benefits litigation and compliance counseling gives her a broad perspective on the issues all types of employers face when administering benefit plans. She works with clients large and small, as well as tax-exempt organizations such as religiously affiliated hospitals.

When clients have questions about how to administer retirement, welfare, cafeteria or executive compensation plans — whether it’s a larger issue resulting from a merger or acquisition or specific to one employee — Heather reviews the plan and the law to determine the correct course. She also helps employers with ERISA and Internal Revenue Code compliance, including the correction of plan operational failures. Heather frequently assists religious employers with benefit questions, including the application of ERISA’s “church plan” exemption.

Her benefits litigation experience includes individual benefit claims and ERISA class actions. Heather has defended plan sponsors in suits involving “church plans,” forum selection clauses, and ERISA pre-emption. Heather has experience with ERISA appellate work in several federal circuit courts and the United States Supreme Court.

While attending Washington University School of Law, Heather served as an executive articles editor for the Journal of Law & Policy and a member of the Jessup International Moot Court team. She interned with Judge Raymond Gruender of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Employee Benefits Section, chair

Community/Civic Activities

  • Washington Place Improvement Association, co-president

Honors & Awards

Honors & Awards

  • The Best Lawyer in America, Health Care Law, 2024
  • The Best Lawyers in America, "Ones to Watch," 2021-2022
  • Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, Rising Star, Employee Benefits, 2017-21

Experience

Representative Matters

  • Represented Advocate Health Care Network before the U.S. Supreme Court in Advocate Health Care Network et al. v. Stapleton et al., a high-profile case involving the interpretation of ERISA’s “church plan” definition. The case resulted in a unanimous June 5, 2017, decision in favor of Advocate and two other religiously affiliated hospitals.

News & Insights

News

Seminars & Speaking Engagements

  • "Mistakes Were Made: Correcting Plan Operational Failures"
    Governmental Plans Continuing Education Seminar, November 17, 2022
  •  “What Overturning Roe v. Wade Means for Employee Benefits"
    Association of Corporate Counsel St. Louis Chapter, July 19, 2022
  • "Transversing the Law: The Variety of Laws Impacting Decisions on Medical Coverage for Gender Dysphoria"
    American Society for Health Care Human Resources Administration, April 27, 2022
  • "Controlled Group and Successor Liability for Defined Benefit Pension Plan Liabilities: Best Practices and Potential Pitfalls for M&A Lawyers”
    Strafford, February 9, 2022
  • "That’s Not My Employee: Outsourcing Without Worker Misclassification Problems"
    ASHHRA 54th Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 16, 2018
  • "Contingent Workers and Legal Risks to Employer Benefit Plans"
    Bloomberg BNA Webinar, November 6, 2013
  • "Before You Hit Send: Practical Application of DOL and IRS Electronic Disclosure Rules"
    Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, December 2012

Blog Posts

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