Saghi Fattahian
Saghi (Sage) Fattahian leads the firm’s health and welfare practice within the Employee Benefits Practice Group. With in-depth knowledge of benefit plan design, implementation, and administration, Sage provides strategic counsel to employers navigating the evolving regulatory landscape governing employee benefits. She advises clients on compliance with a complex framework of federal and state requirements, including the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, MHPAEA, GINA, and applicable state and local laws. Sage partners closely with clients to ensure their benefit programs not only meet legal obligations but also align with organizational goals and workforce needs.
A co-leader of the firm’s Reproductive Rights Task Force, Sage advises clients on the intersection of employee benefits, privacy, and reproductive health access. She provides end-to-end support for daily plan operations, drafting and maintaining plan documents, summary plan descriptions, and compliance policies; reviewing and negotiating service agreements with third-party service provides; advising on claims administration; and fiduciary governance.
Sage is also a member of the firm’s privacy and cybersecurity practice, where she counsels clients on data protections, security incident response, and crisis management as it relates to data protected under HIPAA.
Sage also collaborates with clients to develop innovative, cost-effective plan designs, including high-deductible health plan/health savings account (HDHP/HSA) combinations, health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), and health flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Her approach blends legal precision with practical insight, helping employers manage rising healthcare costs while maintaining competitive and compliant benefit offerings.
When clients face federal agency investigations or audits, Sage leverages her extensive regulatory experience to guide them through the process, conduct proactive legal review, and minimize potential liability. Her combination of technical fluency, creative problem-solving, and strategic foresight informs her counsel to clients.
- John Marshall Law School, 2004, LL.M.
- John Marshall Law School, 2002, J.D.
- University of Illinois, 1998, B.A.
- Illinois
Recommended, Labor and employment: Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional, The Legal 500 US (2023)
Recommended, Labor and employment: Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design, The Legal 500 US (2021–2022)
Member, Practice Group of the Year, Benefits, Law360 (2022)
Member, Law Firm of the Year, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Chambers USA (2019)
Member, Law Firm of the Year, Employee Benefits (ERISA Law), US News/Best Lawyers – Best Law Firms (2019)