Maria Montero focuses her practice on employee benefits, and executive compensation. She advises employers, plan sponsors, and plan fiduciaries on the design and implementation of qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and incentive and deferred compensation arrangements, with particular emphasis on compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, the Affordable Care Act, HIPAA, and COBRA.

Maria has experience assisting clients in identifying and resolving plan qualification and operational failures through the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, including through Self-Correction, VFCP, and VCP filings. During mergers and acquisitions, she also conducts employee benefits due diligence and advises on the identification and resolution of benefit-related issues that arise in connection with corporate transactions.

Previously, she has designed and drafted 401(k), pension, ESOP, and health and welfare plan documents, counseled clients on deferred compensation and equity-based compensation arrangements, and assisted with ESOP implementations. She also gained experience at an international consulting firm as a senior legal consultant, where she advised employers on health and welfare plan design, administration, and regulatory compliance, including navigating COVID-19 legislation and conducting full plan compliance reviews.