New York, New York, United States
Adept Labor & Employment (L&E) counsel with significant law firm and in-house counsel experience. Trusted advisor on a broad array of employment issues, leader of complex compliance projects/workplace investigations, and supervisor of ombuds, open reporting, alternative dispute resolution, governmental agency and litigation matters. Mr. Davis's career path started with a master’s degree in labor and industrial relations, after which he earned a law degree and joined the L&E practice group at Seyfarth Shaw, a preeminent L&E law firm. After building a practice and becoming a partner at Seyfarth, Mr. Davis joined GE Capital as senior executive counsel and gained valuable experience contributing to the growth and restructuring of a prominent multinational conglomerate. At GE Capital, Mr. Davis was primarily responsible for devising the employment law and compliance strategy for the Americas segment and he also served as liaison to the Asia Pacific pole. After playing an instrumental role in the divestiture of GE Capital, Mr. Davis joined Morgan Stanley as Executive Director in its Law & Compliance Division, responsible for Morgan Stanley's Banking Groups and Wealth Management (“WM”) Home Office. Mr. Davis was subsequently elevated to lead the Employment Law function for Morgan Stanley's Infrastructure and Company operations.
Lead counsel for all employment, compensation, and benefits related legal matters across the enterprise providing expert advice and working proactively with key business leaders. Established the ECBL Practice Group at Guardian, managing a team of employment, compensation, and benefits lawyers • Created and implemented an alternative dispute resolution system (arbitration) for all US colleagues with 99+% acknowledgement • Led transition to a new pay equity/compensation analysis framework resulting in meaningful and actionable results • Experienced DEI strategist – Reimagined strategy and approach to DEI after SCOTUS decision on affirmative action and more recent executive orders • Additional issues addressed include pandemic-related workforce and accommodation issues, hiring and termination issues, harassment, discrimination and retaliation, leaves of absence, reasonable accommodations, wage and hour issues, restrictive covenants, conflicts of interest, contingent worker/independent contractor issues, statutory employee issues, employee investigations, executive compensation, and negotiation of separation agreements, etc. • Closely partnered with key legal, human resources, and compliance leaders to oversee impactful initiatives, address public-facing reputational risk issues, and provide timely and impactful updates to the Board of Directors • Able to distill important issues (“see the forest for the trees”) and find the best solution for the organization while mitigating legal risk. Inaugural member and corporate secretary of Guardian’s Compensation Committee. Special liaison/advisor to Guardian India operations, assisting with permanent establishment issues, senior leader mobility and separations, and acting adviser to Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) investigation committee. Elevated to the Law Department's Executive Leadership Team in 2024.
Employment law leader for Morgan Stanley's Company and Infrastructure (Operations and Technology). Formerly led employment law for the Firm’s Banking Groups and Wealth Management (“WM”) Home Office. Employment law advisor supporting financial services organization in all legal matters regarding employment law and compliance • Provided strategic and practical legal guidance, counseling, and support to human resources, senior executives, and management regarding employment issues, risk management, internal investigations, and compliance with labor and employment laws and regulations • Enterprise-wide leader of global statistical compensation analysis and solution fulfillment • Primarily responsible for all forms of dispute resolution, including managing a full litigation docket • Advised senior management regarding settlement of disputes and litigation matters • Retained and supervised outside counsel, managing strategic as well as budgetary matters • Developed and implemented employment policies and procedures across the global enterprise • Supported, developed, and implemented employment related training and compliance tools • Special advisor and employment law liaison to employee relations group.
L&E leader responsible for GE Capital’s Americas and Asia-Pacific operations, advising senior leadership and human resources managers (HRMs) in financial services businesses spanning >40 industries with 300,000 customers. • L&E day-to-day leadership. Autonomous expert, triaging numerous counseling requests per day while successfully managing escalation responsibilities in a highly matrixed organization. Trusted advisor regarding sensitive employee relations matters proactively partnering with senior leaders and other departments to enhance processes and further improve compliance efforts. Aggressive litigator responsible for defending the company against all employment-related individual and class/collective actions • Restructuring/Reorganization. Primary responsibility for employment-related restructuring of business operations in wake of global financial crisis, merging business units and reducing personnel by ~40%. Currently executing on the sale of GE Capital’s business platforms, including negotiating employee matters arising out of numerous dispositions, arranging any necessary transitional services and orchestrating related large-scale layoff activities • Employment law and regulatory compliance initiatives. Developed, implemented and managed employment law and regulatory compliance initiatives • Internal policymaking. Created, consolidated and/or approved a variety of policies, guidelines and processes, e.g., attendance, onboarding/exit, background screening, conflict of interest, home office, flexible work, performance management, contingent worker and overtime • Impactful training for HRMs and managers. Identified areas of need and created/conducted training sessions for HRMs and managers, including Open Reporting and Contingent Worker programs for the Americas and Asia-Pacific • Diversity and pro bono initiatives. Leader of GE Capital’s diversity and pro bono programs. Received GE General Counsel awards for accomplishments in both areas.
Extensive experience in management-side L&E counseling and litigation defense, including complex class and collective action litigation • Proactive, practical, and results oriented advisor to hundreds of clients across the country • Detailed knowledge of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the FLSA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and state law analogs • Trial experience in federal appellate and district courts, state courts, administrative law hearings, and before federal, state, and municipal administrative agencies • Traditional labor law experience in unfair labor practice matters, strikes/lockouts, labor arbitration, and advising clients on employee relations/union avoidance issues • Advanced knowledge of ADR systems, including designing ADR programs, mediation, and arbitration advocacy and court proceedings to compel arbitration and enforce arbitration awards • Thought leader in tracking legislative and common law legal developments and creating responsive compliance procedures • Sophisticated and accomplished settlement negotiator.