David Gallai

Partner

Practice Description

David Gallai practices in the areas of employment counseling, executive compensation, and employee benefits. Mr. Gallai regularly advises management on a full range of employment issues, including compliance with anti-discrimination, employee-leave, and related statutes, reductions in force (including Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and Age Discrimination in Employment Act issues), workplace policies and procedures, employee discipline and discharge, and wages and hours issues. He has also litigated employment discrimination claims.

Mr. Gallai also advises clients on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefit matters, including ERISA and COBRA. Most recently, Mr. Gallai has gained a particular expertise advising management on the rules for non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements under Internal Revenue Code Section 409A. He frequently designs and drafts plan documents, amendments, trust agreements, and other documents relating to employee benefit plans.

Mr. Gallai has extensive experience negotiating, preparing, and reviewing agreements on behalf of both management and executives, including employment, severance, consulting, change-of-control, confidentiality, and non-compete and other restrictive covenant agreements.

Representative Matters

• Advised both public and private companies on the impact of Code Section 409A on their non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements and amendments likely needed to comply with Section 409A. Worked with clients and their advisors to implement needed changes.
• Prepared employment agreements and non-competition agreements, and advised on employment law issues, in connection with reverse acquisition involving a financial services company.
• Advised a financial institution in connection with sensitive executive separation and assisted with the negotiation and preparation of the separation agreement.
• Negotiated employment agreement and profits interest allocation for executive working at a private equity fund.
• Prepared amendments to numerous qualified benefit plans (both defined contribution and defined benefit plans), and revised summary plan descriptions, to comply with federal law.
• Prepared documents related to qualified plan merger, including plan amendments, board resolutions, updated summary plan description, blackout notice, and related administrative forms.
• Counseled client on issues related to KSOP, including addition of participating employers, stock valuation, and related procedures.
• Advised a cosmetics manufacturer and distributor regarding workforce reductions and related legal issues.
• Advised not-for-profit corporation in connection with executive separations and employment agreement for new chief executive officer.
• In connection with a corporate transaction, negotiated employment agreements and restrictive covenant agreements on behalf of selling business owners.
• Defended a financial investment company against allegations of wrongful termination made by a former employee under New York State’s anti-discrimination law.
• Defended a satellite communications provider against allegations of wrongful termination made by a former employee under ERISA and Virginia common law.
• Prepared numerous employment and confidentiality agreements for a financial institution and its employees.

Activities and Affiliations

Publications

Speeches and Events