Lives of Consequence
Arthur A. Marrapese III '78
Partner, Barclay Damon LLP
An attorney with more than 30 years of experience in labor and employment law, Arthur A. Marrapese ’78 is a partner at Barclay Damon LLP. Based in Buffalo, N.Y. at the firm’s rapidly expanding Employee Benefits Practice, he focuses on a range of issues affecting the healthcare and livelihoods of employers and workers across the Northeast.
With broad experience addressing legal considerations unique to health and welfare benefit plans, Marrapese advises health insurance companies and brokers on designing, documenting, and administering insurance products and services in a manner that comports with applicable law, most notably the Affordable Care Act. He regularly counsels plan sponsors, insurers and health plan service providers on a broad array of issues relating healthcare privacy and security, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the ACA, COBRA and HIPAA. He has a wealth of experience negotiating administrative service agreements, business associate agreements, and nondisclosure and data transmission agreements related to the operation and administration of self-funded medical plans.
During his career, Marrapese has provided counsel on the implementation and administration of a broad range of policies and procedures to ensure compliance with legislation, from the Family Medical Leave Act and the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and the ACA.
Drawing on his prior in-house financial services industry experience and his experience as an owner of an ERISA compliance and recordkeeping firm, Marrapese provide pragmatic legal advice regarding qualified retirement plan design, 401(k) recordkeeping and administration, and investment program management. He is a frequent author and presenter on a range of employee benefit topics and was member of New York State Bar Association-sponsored programs covering employer liability in managed health care, estate planning for qualified plan benefits, and misclassified workers. Most recently, he was a panelist on a national program sponsored by Strafford covering the tax and ERISA rules governing employee benefit plan overpayments.
An economics major at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Marrapese received his law degree from the University of Buffalo. He has been named “Lawyer of the Year” for employee benefits in Best Lawyers, Buffalo, as well as to Best Lawyers in America (2018) for employee benefits law and litigation and Super Lawyers, Upstate New York (2008-17).