The Wagner Law Group | Est. 1996

Sophisticated Legal Solutions Boutique-Style Service

Biography

Roberta Casper Watson is the leader of the firm's health and welfare group. Her practice is in the areas of ERISA and employee benefits, with a focus on pension and profit sharing plans as well as health and welfare benefits, including COBRA, HIPAA, and the Affordable Care Act. Roberta also concentrates in ERISA fiduciary decision making and employee stock ownership plans.

Within the employee benefits field, Roberta's extensive experience goes beyond ERISA and impacts other areas of law. For example, she is skilled in determining how employee benefits affect family law and labor law, including the American Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. As a result, she applies specific provisions that must be integrated into benefit plans - so as to comply with these rules and satisfy government reporting requirements while fully informing participants. Additionally, she spearheads litigation when fiduciary breaches occur in employee benefit plans.

Roberta is an active member and a past chair of the American Bar Association Tax Section's Employee Benefits Committee, the ABA's Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB), the ABA Health Law Section's Employee Benefits Interest Group, the Harvard Club, and Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council. She is a member of the Tampa Bay Pension Council and is a charter member of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

Prior to joining The Wagner Law Group, Roberta was a shareholder and senior member at a leading Tampa law firm.

Publications & Media

Publications and News

Seminars and Webinars

Education

  • Harvard University Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
    • J.D. – 1974
  • University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
    • B.A. – 1971
    • Honors: cum laude
    • Major: Political Science
    • Phi Beta Kappa

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts, 1974
  • Florida, 1985
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1979
  • U.S. Tax Court, 1979
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit
  • Supreme Court of Florida
  • Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

Professional Associations

  • Subcommittee on Special Insurance Problems, Chairman, 1987
  • Harvard Club, Vice President of Programs
  • Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council, Member
  • Northside Mental Health Center, Board of Directors, 1987
  • American Heart Association, Hills City Chapter, Board of Directors, 1988
  • Unitarian Universalist Foundation, Trustee
  • Employee Benefits Interest Group of the American Bar Association's Health Law Section, Past Chair
  • ABA Tax Section's Employee Benefits Committee, Member/Past Chair, 1995 to 1996
  • ABA's Joint Committee on Employee Benefits ("JCEB"), Past Chair
  • American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, Charter Fellow
  • American Law Institute, Member
  • Tampa Bay Pension Council, Member
  • American Bar Association, Health Law Section, Employee Benefits Interest Group, Chair, 1998 to 2001
  • The Florida Bar, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Employee Benefits Committee, Chair
  • Hillsborough County Bar Association
  • The ESOP Association
  • Gulf Coast TE/GE Council, President
  • American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Employee Benefits Committee
  • American Law Institute
  • Member of CHIPRA Task Force, 2010
  • Harvard Club of the West Coast of Florida, Board of Directors
  • Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council, Board of Directors, 1996 to 2003
  • Northside Mental Health Center, Board of Directors
  • Community Health Purchasing Alliance, District Six (CHPA)
  • Tampa Bay Pension Council

Honors

  • AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell
  • Best Lawyers in America (Employee Benefits Law)
  • Florida Super Lawyers, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2012-2020
  • Florida Council for Community Mental Health, Inc. Board Member of the Year
  • The Best Lawyers in America Tampa Bay Lawyer of the Year
  • Florida Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, 2008 and 2010
  • Best Lawyers, 1995-Present
  • American College of Employee Benefits Counsel - Charter Fellow
  • Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award – 2018 Edition of Who’s Who in America
  • 2012 Lawyer of the Year - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law Best Lawyers
  • 2019 Lawyer of the Year - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law Best Lawyers
  • The Best Lawyers in America (Employee Benefits/ERISA Law) – 1995-2016
  • The Best Lawyers in America – Tampa Bay Lawyer of the Year (Employee Benefits Law) -2012

Past Positions

  • Trenam Kemker, Senior Member, 2011 to 2013
  • Trenam Kemker, Shareholder , 1988 to 2011

Law Alerts

District Court Once Again Invalidates No Surprises Act Regulations

By Roberta Casper Watson, Dannae Delano and Barry Salkin The No Surprises Act directs the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) to establish a Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Process (the “Federal IDR Process”),...

Congress Enacts Respect for Marriage Act

By, Barry Salkin, Roberta Watson and Jon Schultze n the ordinary course, we would not be advising clients that a statute that a Supreme Court held unconstitutional nine years ago was being removed from the United States Code. However, since the Dobbs decision...

Federal Agencies Issue Group Health Plan Guidance

By Roberta Watson, Barry Salkin and Dannae Delano On December 23, 2022, new guidance applicable to group health plans was issued by federal agencies, as described more fully below.  The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued updated fee guidance in...