Simon Garfield

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

LITIGATION

• Extensive experience representing employers in federal courts, state courts, and arbitration in defending claims of employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, harassment, breach of contract, ERISA benefits litigation, and a wide variety of other employment claims
• Litigates unfair competition and trade secrets misappropriation matters for companies as plaintiffs and defendants; Member of trial team that obtained $40M judgment for theft of trade secrets relating to theft of source code for algorithmic trading system
• Represented company interests during dispute among owners in Delaware Chancery Court regarding corporate control

Government Investigations & Litigation

• Successfully represented employer in EEOC systemic investigation regarding employee training practices
• Successfully resolved and obtained dismissal of numerous charges of discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other state agencies
• Represented employers in ICE investigations related to undocumented workers
• Worked closely with FBI in criminal theft of trade secrets investigation
• Represented financial services firm before domestic and international securities regulators and self-regulatory organizations
• Successfully handled and obtained dismissal of whistleblower complaint filed under Sarbanes-Oxley

Compliance

• Drafts employment policies and handbooks to ensure compliance with employment laws
• Extensive experience with regulatory compliance issues applicable to Broker Dealers, Investment Advisers, hedge funds, and automated high frequency trading
• Managed implementation and compliance of privacy program under domestic and international privacy regimes
•  Managed international expansion and development of compliance framework to ensure compliance with local employment, corporate, financial services, and tax laws.

Due Diligence/Corporate

• Represented private equity investors in transactions by performing due diligence on labor and employment issues and post-transaction transition issues
• Served as lead attorney negotiating asset purchase agreements for acquisition of companies
• Managed entity management, inter-company agreements, and corporate secretary function for privately-held financial services firm

Counseling

• Works with employers to draft employee handbooks and advises employers on drafting employer policies and procedures
• Advises clients on employment-related issues, including the hiring, retention, termination, and wages of employees
• Advises clients on difficult employment-related issues, including high risk terminations, reductions-in-force, and restrictive covenants

Investigations

• Conducted investigations in response to employee complaints, including sensitive claims of discrimination, harassment, and other workplace misconduct
• Conducted investigations relating to compliance with domestic and international securities laws and regulations

Arbitration

• Successfully compelled cases to arbitration
• Completed arbitration under NASD (predecessor to FINRA) arbitration program
• Completed arbitrations under AAA rules

Contracts

• Extensive experience drafting, negotiating, and advising on employment agreements, procurement and vendor contracts, technology contracts, financial agreements (e.g. ISDA), data licenses, and service agreements
• Implemented contract management system and workflow process for financial services firm

General Counsel

• Served as general counsel to privately held financial services firm
• Developed an in-sourcing program for complex litigation to minimize duplication of efforts among outside counsel in multi-jurisdiction litigation and reduce the costs of e-discovery and computer forensics