Culhane Meadows recognizes that benefits such as 401(k) retirement planning, long-term disability insurance, and group health insurance give partners and their families peace of mind for the future or when unexpected accidents or illnesses strike. Offering such benefits is also important as the firm grows and we seek to attract more high-quality Big Law candidates through our recruiting channels.
Although the firm leverages group purchasing power and benefits brokers to negotiate the best pricing for our group benefits offerings, please note that the costs of CM’s group benefits are fully funded by the participants through draw deductions (or occasionally through a partner writing a check to CM if a partner’s draws are insufficient to cover the costs of his/her selected benefit plans). Participants may also be charged a nominal annual fee to cover ongoing accounting and processing costs incurred by the firm to offer and administer these partner-funded benefits (and the annual fees will be calculated each year based on the total number of participants in the relevant benefits programs).
Use the below menu and links to learn more about the group benefits offered to CM partners:
Preparing for Retirement - 401(k) Savings Plan
The firm offers you the opportunity to participate in a partner-funded 401(k) retirement savings plan through Voya Financial® and you are eligible for enrollment as soon as you join the firm. Go HERE to learn more about our 401(k) and enrollment instructions.
Health & Wellness - Medical, Dental and Vision Plans
Once you become eligible, you may elect to participate in the partner-funded group medical, dental and vision coverage for you and your eligible dependents, including your spouse and children. Eligibility begins on the first of the month coinciding with or following a 30 day waiting period after your date of hire. Annual open enrollment dates vary but will be announced each fall for the following calendar year. Go HERE to learn more about group health benefits and enrollment instructions. Questions regarding health insurance enrollment can be directed to our benefits agent, Angus McRae at amcrae@angusmcrae.com or 770-300-0001 x 101.
Protecting Against Catastrophic Risks - Long-Term Disability Insurance
Voluntary Group Long-term Disability Coverage (LTD)
Culhane Meadows offers you the opportunity to join a partner-funded group long-term disability policy. You can view the benefits summary and premium cost sheet HERE. Upon joining CM, all attorneys must either enroll or decline this coverage by completing the LTD Enrollment/Waiver section on the current-year Group Benefits Election Form available HERE. Coverage becomes effective on the first day of the month following your first full month at CM given timely enrollment. If you do not enroll when you are first eligible (i.e., within the first 30 days of joining Culhane Meadows), your future enrollment will be subject to medical underwriting and you must complete this Statement of Health form. Questions regarding this disability insurance can be directed to our agent, Angus McRae at amcrae@angusmcrae.com or 770-300-0001 x 101. Return your completed enrollment form to benefits@cm.law within 30 days of your date of hire even if you are declining this coverage.Protecting Against the Unexpected - Aflac® Supplemental Insurance and Term Life Options
CM partners have access to our group plans with Aflac, which generally means the group rates are lower than what is offered in the public marketplace. Aflac premiums are lower than most medical policies and the payout benefits are a nice supplement to traditional medical coverage when a covered event occurs unexpectedly. In essence, Aflac writes a check to you for a covered loss and then you can spend the money as you see fit – on anything. Go HERE to learn more about Aflac coverage, pricing, and enrollment instructions.
Why Doesn't CM Subsidize Partner Benefits?
In traditional businesses, including most large law firms, the financial structure captures substantial income revenue that can be used to fund overhead such as group benefits programs (e.g., in a 2017 survey, AmLaw 100 firms retained an average of 61% of all revenue collections to cover overhead and used just 39% in compensation to their attorneys). Oftentimes, partners or executives are even required to pay higher premiums to subsidize the benefits offered to associates or junior employees. A core aspect of CM’s low-overhead business model is that we push a substantially higher percentage of collected revenue directly down to our attorneys, leaving far less “pie” for the firm to spend on expenses like benefits. This approach enables partners to make purchasing decisions based on what makes the most financial sense for their unique needs–for everything from computer hardware and office supplies to CLE courses. Likewise, we adopt the same philosophy with our partner-funded benefits programs because no two partners–or their families–are exactly the same or desire the exact same type of benefits (e.g., PPO with high premium/low deductible vs. HSA with low premium/high deductible, etc.). For these reasons CM does not currently mandate participation in group benefit plans nor does it subsidize the costs of partner benefits.
NOTICE: Culhane Meadows reserves the right to amend, suspend or terminate any benefit plan, in whole or in part, at any time.