Labor and employment
The group at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP advises on the wide range of matters, with specialisms spanning trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation, workplace investigations, transactional issues, discrimination claims and compliance counseling, as well as class and mass action litigation. John Barry heads the team in New York and has experience handling corporate and regulatory enforcement investigations and employment issues arising from transactions. Barry is also an expert in board and management counseling in such high-stakes situations as executive terminations, mass exoduses, trade secret theft, and harassment and discrimination claims. Rebecca Sivitz works between New York and Boston and leads on a number of high-profile transactions and restructurings. New York’s Celine Chan is a name to note and Boston-based Peter Mee is a seasoned litigator who works with private equity funds, corporates and others on restructurings and bankruptcies in particular.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Profile
Position
Head of Weil's Employment Litigation practice.
Career
John P. Barry is Head of Weil’s Employment Practice Group. A seasoned first-chair trial lawyer and trusted board and management advisor with 30 years of experience, John advises clients in connection with complex discrimination, retaliation and whistleblower complaints, corporate and regulatory investigations, and restrictive covenant and trade secret matters, including those involving non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality, non-disclosure, clawback, and other remedial provisions. He has handled these issues in almost all 50 states and internationally. John represents companies across the industry spectrum, including financial services, private equity, hedge funds, alternative asset management funds, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, retail, and technology.
Education
Harvard University (B.A., cum laude); Boston University School of Law (J.D.)
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘The employment law group is built to drop into any large and complicated employment litigation and move forward with force.’
‘Celine Chan is who you want running the day-to-day aspects of your large litigations. Organized, thorough, incredibly hardworking, and blessed with an absolute steel trap of a legal mind.’
- 'Peter Mee's sharp memory helps as he recalls past interactions easily and makes me never have to re-explain background. I really value his deep understanding and straightforward approach.'
- 'Weil handles sensitive issues with exceptional speed and care. The communication from the team is great. I appreciate having the same attorney consistently so I can build rapport and background.'
- 'They are knowledgeable and the tech platform is easy to use. The fast responses are really what sets Weil apart and always makes my team feel like their top priority.'
- 'John Barry is very incisive on restrictive covenant issues.'
Key clients
- Goldman Sachs
- Creative Planning
- Seegrid Corp
- CAPCO
- Kroger Company
- Advent International
- Boston Consulting Group
- Schindler Elevator
- OPE Inmar Investment Holdings LLC
- BAPS
- Sunoco
- Western Global Airlines
Work highlights
Representing The Kroger Company as lead employment and labor law counsel in connection with its $26b merger with Albertson’s, as well as in related merger enforcement litigation.
Representing a publicly traded manufacturer in connection with an independent investigation of alleged misconduct by the company’s CEO and certain other executives.
Representing global PE fund Advent International in defense of a $60m+ lawsuit commenced in Colorado federal court by the former CFO of a portfolio company.