Purposeful and very driven, Lyndsey still makes time to connect with her friends. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that she approaches a party with the same zeal with which she approaches her work.

Lyndsey is the Chair of the Firm's Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group. One aspect of Lyndsey’s practice involves counseling employers with respect to the development of employee benefit strategies to assist in attracting, motivating, and retaining a high-quality workforce. As a former tax associate for a Big Five accounting firm, Lyndsey understands the impact that benefit decisions have on a company’s bottom line. Lyndsey takes a practical approach with clients and encourages them to be proactive with their benefit strategies. She enjoys presenting on benefits topics and frequently does so both locally, regionally, and nationally.

Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, Lyndsey has developed a deep expertise on welfare benefit plans, including self-insured medical, dental, prescription drug, and vision plans, as well as long and short-term disability plans, cafeteria plans, wrap plans, and wellness programs. Lyndsey has assisted many companies with HIPAA compliance. She assists clients in developing HIPAA policies and procedures, completing their risk assessment, training their employees, and reacting to breaches of protected health information.

Lyndsey assists counsel clients in designing, administering, and complying with the legal requirements of both qualified and non-qualified retirement plans. She works with private sector and public entities. She can assist from the outset when a plan is being contemplated to the end when a plan is being terminated. She frequently attends committee meetings of plan sponsors’ investment committees and assists these committees with fiduciary compliance.

Lyndsey also assists service providers of both welfare and retirement plans. She works with financial institutions to ensure the services they provide to retirement plans are compliant with the law and provides similar services to health benefit consultants and brokers with their welfare plan clients. She reviews and prepares various legal documents, and partners with these clients to assist them in providing practical solutions for their clients’ problems when issues arise in their retirement plans.

Lyndsey resides in Anderson Township with her spouse, Dan, and two children, Alexa and Jaxson. She loves to travel, spend time with family and friends, and watch sports.

Education

Northwestern University School of Law, LLM in Taxation (2005)

University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D., Order of the Coif (2004)

Miami University, B.S., Accountancy (2000)

Distinctions

40 Under 40, Cincinnati Business Courier (2013)

Great Leaders Under 40, Venue Magazine (2013)

Professional Activities

Class 47, Leadership Cincinnati, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber (2023-2024)

Member, Cincinnati Bar Association

Member, Employee Benefits Committee

Treasurer of the Board, Meals on Wheels of Southwest OH and Northern KY

Board Member, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati

Former Board Member, American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries

Former Board Member, American Cancer Society

Former Board Member, Chair, St. Joseph Home

Former Finance Committee Chair, St. Joseph Home

Finance Committee Chair, Meals on Wheels of Southwest OH and Northern KY

Past Chair, Employee Benefits Committee Member

Class of 2012, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber

Blog Posts

Additional Items

• Speaker, “Fiduciary Update,” PNC Bank (November 2023)
• Speaker, “What do Employment Attorneys Need to Know About EB,” OSBA Annual Midwest Labor & Employment Law Institute (October 2023)
• Speaker, “Fiduciaries – Who are They,” ASPPA Fall Webinar (September 2023)
• Speaker, “SECURE 2.0 Correction of Errors,” ASPPA Cincinnati Chapter (August 2023)
• Speaker, “EB Primer for HR Professional,” Oak Ridge National Laboratory L&E Conference (August 2023)
• Speaker, “Impact of End of COVID Emergency,” Cincinnati Bar Association EB Conference (June 2023)
• Speaker, “Demystifying Mergers & Acquisitions,” ASPPA Spring National Conference (May 2023)
• Speaker, “Lifecycle of Employee in Benefits,” OSBA (February 2023)
• Speaker, “Secure 2.0 Impact on Benefit Plans,” Graydon Clients (February 2023)
• Speaker, “Workshop 10: “AFTER” Map: Building a Post-M&A Action Plan,” Annual National ASPPA Conference (October 2022)
• Speaker, “Don’t Forget Compliance While You Are Innovating,” HORAN & Associates (September 2022)
• Speaker, “Benefits in a Post-COVID World,” Oak Ridge National Laboratory L&E Conference (September 2022)
• Speaker, “Fiduciary Duties: What is a Fiduciary?” Annual National ASPPA Conference (October 2022)
• Speaker, “Health Plan Compliance for 2022 – COVID Relief,” Paycor Webinar (May 2022)
• Speaker, “ACA & Health Care Update,” UC Income Tax Conference (December 2021)
• Speaker, “Record Keepers in the News – 1,” Annual National ASPPA Conference (October 2021)
• Speaker, “Record Keepers in the News – 2,” Annual National ASPPA Conference (October 2021)
• Speaker, “Barrel Rolls & Corkscrews: The Thrilling Ride of Benefits Compliance,” HORAN & Associates (September 2021)
• Speaker, “Fighting Talent Flight,” Goering Center (August 2021)
• Speaker, “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) COBRA Subsidies,” HORAN & Associates (April 2021)
• Speaker, “Update on Employee Benefit Changes,” BKD Compliance Webinar (November 2020)
• Speaker, “COVID 19 Impact on Benefit Plans,” Cincinnati Bar Association, Annual EB Conference (September 2020)
• Speaker, “Spark Joy Into Your Compliance Plan,” HORAN & Associates Compliance Seminar (September 2020)
• Speaker, “Month 5: Employment Law, Updates for Continuing to Operate During COVID-19,” Graydon Client Webinar (August 2020)
• Speaker, “The Coronavirus Pandemic, Health & Retirement Plan Issues,” Graydon Client Webinar (June 2020)
• Speaker, “Secure Act Impact on Retirement Plans,” ASPPA Cincinnati Chapter (February 2020)
• Speaker, “Fiduciary Update,” PNC Bank (February 2020)
• Speaker, “A Peek Inside Benefits at Dunder Mifflin,” HORAN & Associates Compliance Seminar (September 2019)
• Speaker, “Benefits in the Modern Family,” Oak Ridge National Laboratory L&E Conference (August 2019)
• Speaker, “EPCRS Update,” ASPPA Cincinnati Chapter (May 2019)
• Speaker, “Legal & Regulatory Update,” Fifth Third Institutional Services Conference (April 2019)
• Speaker, “End of Employment Decisions,” Graydon Huddle (March 2019)
• Speaker, “Benefits for the Modern Family,” Paycor Webinar Series (March 2019)
• Speaker, “Panel on Fiduciary Issues,” PNC Bank (February 2019)
• Speaker, “Fiduciary Responsibility – Knowledge is the Best Way to Avoid Liability,” Paycor Webinar (February 2019)

Lyndsey Barnett was a high school senior in Toledo, on the cheerleading squad when it qualified for nationals in Orlando. It was the first team in her school’s history to be involved in a national competition, where it’s more about gymnastics, real athleticism, building human towers and flipping each other around than you might think of when you normally think of cheerleading. It’s called stunting.

But the principal decided not to let the kids go. No way, he said, forget it. His reason, Lyndsey says, was that they would miss three days of school. A grass-roots ruckus ensued. Lyndsey’s parents got involved. Her father, who owns a car dealership, got every small business in the school district that had outdoor marquees to post signs that read “We Support the Whitmer Cheerleaders.”

The Toledo Blade ran numerous stories. The local NBC affiliate aired a segment – a cheerleader’s parents vs. the principal. Her parents called school board members. Some 250 folks showed up for the school board meeting when the issue came up for reconsideration on the agenda. The kids showed up in their uniforms and did a few cheers.

The board overruled the principal but told the cheerleaders they’d have to come up with the $15,000 it would cost to make the trip. Which they gladly did. As it turns out, they didn’t win, place or show – but Lyndsey learned a lesson that has taken her a long way. She learned that if you really want something, you can find a way to make it happen.

“I’m essentially a clone of my father. I don’t do well with ‘no,’” she says.

She considers herself analytical, persuasive, extremely loyal and a planner. She does not understand people who have a goal, but never put a plan in place to make it happen. “Some people just wander along and hope things will work out. I’m not that way. When I decide that I want to accomplish something, I almost immediately come up with the most efficient way to achieve it.”

Lyndsey’s parents didn’t go to college. She says they barely knew anyone who did, with the exception of an uncle who was a lawyer. She admired him, wanted to be like him and mapped out a path to make it happen.

One other note about Lyndsey is that relationships matter to her in a big way. Her office is fully equipped with photos of her with her friends and family.

“I don’t have a lot of ‘acquaintance’-type friends. My friends are almost all best friends. I think the fact that I had 14 bridesmaids in my wedding and had a serious problem narrowing it to 14 pretty much says it all."

“With clients, I think it’s a similar dynamic. I pride myself in being a good friend and treat my clients like friends. I think that’s a quality that differentiates the way that I practice. Clients are more likely to come back to you if they like you, if they trust you. If any of my friends have a need, I’m there for them. It’s the same with my clients. People are wired in such a way that they give that back. It’s simple, really – you get what you give.”