Overview
Sarah G. Raaii focuses her practice on employee benefits and matters related to health care reform, data privacy and HIPAA compliance, executive compensation, and health and welfare, cafeteria, 401(k), 403(b) and pension plans.
Sarah has experience counseling clients on regulatory compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Internal Revenue Code and related state and federal laws affecting employee benefit plans. She assists clients with drafting employee benefit plan documents and amendments and represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Department of Labor (DOL) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation with respect to plan qualification issues. Sarah also advises clients on employee benefits diligence, design, implementation and transition matters arising from corporate and private equity mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to joining McDermott, Sarah worked for the National Economic Council at the White House, where she implemented the Affordable Care Act and developed the DOL fiduciary rule with leaders from the Executive Office of the President, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Treasury. Sarah previously worked with in-house attorneys and federal and state government relations professionals in the Leadership Development Program of a Fortune 500 global insurance and financial services corporation.
During law school, Sarah served as a contributing editor for and was published in the Iowa Law Review.
Results
- Assisted a large Fortune 150 corporation in transitioning its medical benefit platform to a private healthcare exchange
- Drafted employee benefit plan documents to transition benefits in connection with a $6 billion corporate acquisition
- Advised on employee benefits due diligence and disclosures for a $1.8 billion health system transaction
Recognitions
- The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Chicago, 2023 and 2024
Community
- Chicago Committee for Minorities in Large Law Firms, associate board
- Chicago Bar Association, Employee Benefits Committee, former chair
- American Bar Association, Employee Benefits Committee of the Section of Taxation
Credentials
Education
University of Iowa College of Law, JD, with distinction, 2015
University of Iowa, BBA, with high distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, 2010
University of Iowa, BS, with high distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, 2010
Admissions
Illinois
Languages
English
Farsi
Spanish