Phil maintains a diverse practice combining work with clients on matters of employment law, complex commercial litigation, and outside general counsel services. Formerly serving as GC for a privately held company, Phil appreciates the bottom-line impact of litigation strategies as well as how to navigate an ever-changing workforce.
His work on behalf of employers around the country includes the enforcement of post-employment restrictive covenants, counseling HR managers on how to properly recruit, hire, train, and—when necessary—separate from employees, negotiation of severance packages, anti-harassment training, protection of trade secrets, and handbook compliance.
In his litigation practice, he has represented health insurance providers in multi-million dollar payor/provider litigations and arbitrations, has litigated ERISA preemption issues, prosecuted and defended fraudulent transfer/alter ego/veil-piercing lawsuits, and has handled a variety of general commercial matters involving contracts, fraud, tortious interference, and related state and federal claims.
And in representing small and medium-sized businesses as outside general counsel, Phil negotiates contracts with vendors and customers, oversees due diligence for new acquisitions, advises on compliance with a diverse and complex number of regulatory schemes, and leads internal investigations.
*Matter completed prior to joining Benesch.
Representative Experience
- Examples of trial victories include complete defense verdict in multi-million-dollar lender liability case, 100% damages award in construction arbitration, $650,000 verdict in federal court jury trial based on claims of electronic trade secrets misappropriation and related claims.*
- Secured summary judgment in Ohio state court on behalf of community bank counter-sued by commercial borrower following collections efforts. In 31-page opinion, state court granted the bank summary judgment on all 10 counts of the counterclaim which sought over $1MM in damages.*
- Successfully conducted oral arguments in both state and federal courts of appeals, including successful reversal at the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which resulted in client’s full jury award being reinstated. The Sixth Circuit found that the District Court abused its discretion in issuing a remittitur of jury’s award based on a pleading technicality.*
- Oversaw acquisition of one of client’s major competitors along with post-merger integration of workforces (50+ new employees), policies, and procedures.*
- Obtained TRO and eventually agreed injunction against former employees who resigned from insurance company and then established local office of competitor in violation of non-compete agreements. Electronic discovery revealed that employees had downloaded hundreds of proprietary documents to USB drives prior to leaving, giving them a significant head start in their efforts to compete with client.*
- Defended numerous clients in EEOC and analogous state proceedings. In one case, despite a successful mediation of the matter with the charging party, the EEOC insisted on a continued investigation of the employer. Represented client in resisting fishing expedition, and EEOC eventually relented.*