Greg Demers is counsel in the firm’s Boston office. Greg focuses his practice on employment disputes and advises on a wide range of labor and employment matters, including pre-litigation counseling, employment contract negotiation, risk assessment, and dispute resolution.
Greg regularly represents employers in complex employment litigation matters, including disputes concerning restrictive covenants and trade secrets misappropriation, wage and hour and ERISA class actions, discrimination matters, whistleblower actions, and arbitrations and lawsuits brought by highly compensated senior executives. Greg also has a deep commercial litigation background, having represented private equity firms and their portfolio companies, hedge funds, educational institutions, and individual officers and directors in a broad range of disputes. Greg has successfully guided clients through securities and consumer class actions, shareholder derivative claims, internal investigations, and deal litigation, as well as follow-on state and federal government investigations.
Greg counsels companies and senior management on employment and executive compensation arrangements, including hiring, separations, employee transitions, and restrictive covenants. Greg has experience representing employers in internal investigations, interviewing witnesses, assessing risks, and negotiating resolutions. He advises on various employment law issues that arise in corporate transactions, including deal diligence, transition planning, and the drafting of various employment-related agreements.
Greg also maintains an active pro bono practice. He has successfully represented asylum-seekers fleeing from political persecution, parents seeking custody of their children, and low-income tenants facing disability discrimination. Most recently, Greg defended a non-profit social service provider against discrimination claims in Massachusetts Superior Court, obtaining a complete dismissal at the pleadings stage.
Prior to joining the firm, Greg clerked for Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and United States District Judge Michael Ponsor in the District of Massachusetts.
Experience
Class Actions, Collective Actions, and Other Complex Litigation
- Currently representing former public company officer in multi-pronged litigation, including a securities class action in federal district court and parallel regulatory inquiries into alleged accounting irregularities.
- Currently defending investment fund, general partner, and limited partners in fraudulent conveyance litigation being pursued in both state and federal court. Successfully resolved breach of fiduciary duty claims against former portfolio company directors and officers in related litigation.
- Represented airfreight carrier against Sherman Act price-fixing claims in putative class action lawsuit.
- Defended private equity firm and former directors and officers in multi-jurisdictional litigation in state and federal court alleging mismanagement and breach of fiduciary duty, resulting in a favorable resolution for our clients.
Trade Secrets, Non-Competes and Unfair Competition
- Representing logistics company in multi-jurisdictional trade secrets and non-compete litigation brought by purported industry competitor.
- Representing disaster restoration company in arbitration against former executive for violation of restrictive covenants.
- Defending chemical company and a senior executive in state court non-compete litigation brought by former employer.
Disputes with Highly Compensated Executives
- Representing portfolio company in dispute with former executive concerning earn-out compensation and consulting benefits.
- Counseled clients at various stages regarding disputes with executives separating from the company.
- Successfully defended board members in whistleblower action brought by former chief compliance officer upon termination.
ERISA / Employee Benefits Litigation
- Obtained dismissal of putative ERISA class action brought by plan participants in the Southern District of New York.
- Successfully defended against fiduciary duty litigation brought against benefits plan in federal court on behalf of 401K participants.
- Obtained affirmance in Second Circuit Court of Appeals of trial court decision dismissing fraudulent conveyance claims against benefits committee.
Internal Investigations
- Led internal investigation into allegations of misrepresentation by company executive.
- Conducted investigation on behalf of a special committee of a closely held company’s board of directors into allegations of self-dealing by executive officers.
- Obtained “no action” letters in various state and federal investigations against public company officers and directors related to alleged disclosure violations, insider trading, and accounting fraud, among others.
- Conducted investigation on behalf of special committee of a public company board of directors in response to shareholder derivative demand concerning director compensation.
- Conducted investigation on behalf of medical device company into whistleblower allegations made by former member of senior management.
- Obtained “no action” letter following four-year SEC investigation into alleged disclosure violations by public company officer.
- Obtained “no action” letter following SEC investigation into alleged accounting fraud prompted by short seller report.