Terry P. Finnerty
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
Atlantic Center Plaza, Suite 700
1180 West Peachtree Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30309-3448
USA
Phone: +1 404 253 6928
Fax: +1 404 393 1219
Email:
TPFinnerty@duanemorris.com
Terry P. Finnerty practices in the area of litigation, with a focus on defending companies in commercial and employment disputes before federal and state courts and agencies. He also represents corporate clients in all aspects of management labor relations. His experience includes representing and counseling companies in matters involving commercial contract disputes, business related torts, unfair competition, licensing issues and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Finnerty handles a wide variety of employment matters involving the defense of employment discrimination claims, wrongful discharge cases, wage and hour litigation and employment contract matters. He also counsels businesses concerning the preparation and enforcement of human resources policies, affirmative action programs, reductions in force and outsourcing and employee leasing issues. Special matters handled by Mr. Finnerty include union election campaigns, collective bargaining negotiations and arbitrations for clients covered by both the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act, supervisor and management training and preparing for and dealing with strikes and picketing.
In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business included Mr. Finnerty in its listing of leading labor and employment lawyers in Georgia.
Mr. Finnerty is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia. He is a 1989 graduate of Emory University School of Law, where he was Executive Notes and Comments Editor of the Emory Law Journal, and a graduate of the University of Richmond.
Areas of Practice
- Litigation
- Labor and Employment Law
Representative Matters
- Enforced the settlement of a federal court suit that the client found favorable when plaintiff sought to renege on the settlement.
- Successfully defended a security provider in a claim for unpaid sales commissions.
- Achieved a settlement that the client found favorable for a private investigations company in a class action suit filed under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- Lead counsel to security providers, government contractors and transportation companies concerning the acquisition and divestiture of various business units and subsidiaries.
- Obtained summary judgment in numerous cases filed in federal court alleging age, sex, race and disability discrimination.
- Obtained summary judgment in a race discrimination case in favor of a large contract security company (this favorable judgment was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court).
- Obtained dismissal of a FLSA claim brought against a freight forwarding company.
- Obtained a favorable settlement in a wage and hour class action brought against a contract security company after defeating class certification.
- Successfully defended arbitration claims involving such issues as discharge, scheduling, overtime pyramiding and pension contributions.
- Counsel to air carrier in arbitration involving claim that a craft or class of employees was owed millions of dollars in back pay over the course of several years. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the carrier.
- Successfully defended numerous employers accused of unfair labor practices before the National Labor Relation Board.
- Won over a dozen union representation cases for employers such as automobile dealers, manufacturers, steel mills, air carriers and contract security providers.
- Represented management in more than 20 collective bargaining negotiations involving initial contracts, successor contracts and plant closings and relocations.
- Counseled numerous employers, including a large supermarket chain, public utilities, air carriers, package delivery companies and furniture retailers, concerning preparations for and operations during an employee work stoppage.
- Coordinated WARN Act compliance for an airport services company upon the closing of a nationwide business unit.
- Advised a large unionized company with regard to strategy for dealing with NLRA and ERISA issues associated with participation in a multi-employer pension plan.
- Counsel to the American subsidiary of an international security services provider on a wide variety of labor and employment issues, including union and litigation avoidance, relations with unionized employees, collective bargaining negotiations, disputes before the National Labor Relations Board and other federal agencies, and litigation of disputes arising under federal and state employment laws.
- Counsel to a large insurance company and its subsidiaries on employment matters, including compliance with the Civil Rights Acts, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, and both federal and state wage and hour laws.
- Counsel to a large international staffing company, providing union avoidance counseling and training.
Professional Activities
- State Bar of Georgia
- Labor and Employment Law Section
- Transition Into Law Practice Program Mentor (2008)
Admissions
- Georgia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- Court of Appeals of Georgia
- Superior Court of Georgia
- Supreme Court of Georgia
- Supreme Court of the United States
Education
- Emory University School of Law, J.D., 1989
- University of Richmond, B.A., 1986
Experience
- Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2003-present - Troutman Sanders, LLP, Atlanta, Georgia
- Partner, 1999-2003
- Associate, 1996-1998 - Ford & Harrison, Atlanta, Georgia
- Associate, 1989-1996
Civic and Charitable Activities
- Druid Hills Youth Football Association, VP of Organizational Operations, 2010-present
- Youth Football, Basketball and Baseball Coach, 2005-present
Honors and Awards
- Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2009, 2010 and 2011
- AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Selected Publications
- "Labor/Employment Alert for Truck Dealers," Successful Dealer, August 2005
- "Current Developments in Labor-Management Relations," Employment Relations Today, Vol. 15, No. 4, Spring 1990
- "Modifying Retirement Benefits: Problems Under ERISA," Employment Relations Today, Vol. 16, No. 4, Winter 1989/90
Selected Speaking Engagements
- Lecturer, "How to Prepare for and Take a Case Through Arbitration," Atlanta, February 2009
- Lecturer, "Labor Law Training Program for Construction Project Directors and Managers," St. Louis, May 2004 and Atlanta, October 2004
- "Union Avoidance Strategies," Southern Employment Law Conference, The Cambridge Institute, Atlanta, November 10, 1998
