Emily Baver Bowie has an active and high-paced litigation practice with a focus on managed care, healthcare, ERISA, employee benefits, and bankruptcy. Prior to joining Robinson+Cole, Emily served as the interim general counsel and FOIA & ethics officer of the District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB). In her capacity as the chief legal officer, she was responsible for advising the Board of Trustees of the $11 billion public pension fund for the benefit of the District’s police offices, firefighters, and teachers regarding legal issues impacting the fund, including fiduciary, employee benefits, private equity, government contracting and procurement, employment, and administrative law. She oversaw a team of in-house and outside attorneys and was responsible for developing the strategic direction of the legal department.
Among her responsibilities, Emily oversaw the implementation of policies and procedures to streamline fund compliance with pension plan terms, responded to benefits claims, appeals, and administrative complaints, and advised the Pension Administrator on plan terms implicating the same; managed and oversaw outside counsel (1) handling litigation against agency by former employees and plan participants, (2) advising regarding compliance with employee benefits and tax law, and (3) assisting in negotiation of private equity and other complex fund investments to ensure compliance with the agency’s budget; and advised the DCRB procurement department on contract terms compliance with applicable District and federal government contracting laws, and negotiated required changes to agency contracts regarding those requirements.
Before her service with the DCRB, Emily was a senior litigator for a Washington, D.C.-based Am Law 100 law firm for over a decade with a focus on ERISA & managed care litigation and bankruptcy Emily’s experience includes advising a national healthcare provider and litigating managed care disputes with commercial and government payers. She asserted claims under and advised clients regarding ERISA, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, and state and federal healthcare regulations. Emily helped recover more than $10 million in underpayments for clients through negotiated settlements and successful litigation outcomes.
As a go-to litigator in complex matters, Emily led litigation teams and directed case strategy in courts and tribunals nationwide. She drafted pleadings and complex motions and briefs in federal and state court litigation, including a Supreme Court amicus curiae brief arguing for expansive interpretation of ERISA preemption; conducted and defended depositions, directed collection, review, and production of documents, and argued complex motions and appeals in federal and state courts, including a bankruptcy appeal before the Fifth Circuit.
Prior to assuming those roles, Emily served as a judicial intern for The Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as well as a legal extern for the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission and as a law clerk for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), where she participated in the Alternatives to Landlord Tenant Court Project.
