ELON, NC—Womble Bond Dickinson will have a leading role in the North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities (NCICU) Directors of Human Resources Meeting, which takes place Oct. 17 at Elon University.

Firm attorneys Patrick Allen (Winston-Salem), Benita N. Jones (Research Triangle Park) and Beth Tyner Jones (Raleigh) will be presenting a Legal Update at the meeting. Their presentation will address ERISA compliance and IRS retirement plan audit issues, as well as provide an update on employment law developments relevant to HR directors at North Carolina’s private colleges and universities.

Latrelle McAllister, Vice-President for Administrative Services/Chief Human Resources Officer at Johnson C. Smith University, will facilitate the Legal Update.

NCICU is comprised of 36 North Carolina private, nonprofit liberal arts, research, and comprehensive colleges and universities that are accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Patrick Allen guides employers in designing, documenting and administering employee retirement and welfare benefit plans. In addition, clients turn to Patrick for help with COBRA, HIPAA and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act regulatory compliance. He also advises clients on employee benefits matters related to corporate transactions.

Benita N. Jones has extensive experience providing legal support and counsel to educational institutions on a broad array of state and federal legal issues including Title IX, VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, constitutional law, contract law, tort law, policy development and governance, employment law, and student legal issues. Immediately prior to joining Womble Bond Dickinson, she served as the Assistant University Legal Counsel at NC Central University.

Beth Tyner Jones has nearly three decades of experience counseling employers on all facets of employment law matters. She leads the firm’s US-based Labor & Employment Team, which represents employers in labor and employment litigation as well as counsels employers proactively to manage risk and to help prevent such disputes. She also is a leader of the firm’s Education and School Law Team and serves on Womble Bond Dickinson’s Firm Management Committee. Jones is the Managing Partner of the firm’s Raleigh and Research Triangle Park offices.