Henry M. Perlowski

Partner

Direct: 404.873.8684
Fax: 404.873.8685
Atlanta
171 17th Street NW
Suite 2100
Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Biography

Henry is a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice, chair of the Employment practice, co-chair of the Oil & Gas industry team, and a member of the Background Screening and Hospitals & Health Systems industry teams. He helps employers, employer service providers, and boards of directors solve their most complex legal dilemmas. Nationally, Henry serves as lead counsel in litigation across 30 jurisdictions, taking dozens of cases to verdict before juries and arbitration tribunals. He is acting outside general counsel and a key attorney for clients in the background screening, employee benefits, energy, and healthcare industries. Henry advises management teams, leading the negotiation of employment contracts, equity, and other benefits in corporate acquisitions. He carefully counsels clients through some of their most sensitive matters including internal investigations, executive separation, earn-out, and fiduciary duty disputes. He defends class and collective actions under federal and state anti-discrimination and wage and hour laws and frequently represents employee benefit plans and service providers in ERISA and related contract litigation regarding claims under PPO and traditional network plans and under reference-based reimbursement plans. Throughout his work, Henry addresses all forms of competition, trade secret, breach of corporate opportunity, and related disputes. Actively assisting employers to avoid costly litigation if possible, Henry uses multi-jurisdictional restructurings, workplace integrations following corporate transactions, and alternative dispute resolution programs whenever appropriate.

In connection with the firm’s preeminent Background Screening industry team, Henry defends consumer reporting agencies and employers in putative class actions and other lawsuits brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and related consumer protection statutes. He guides clients to develop compliant background screening programs under the FCRA and various EEO and state guidance on criminal, credit, and other background checks.

In connection with the firm’s nationally recognized Hospitals & Health Systems team, Henry leads internal investigations and complex disputes that often have significant regulatory and business implications.

Experience

  • Lead counsel securing summary judgment on class representative standing in a nationwide putative class action brought in Pennsylvania under the Fair Credit Reporting Act addressing the sufficiency of disclosures given to applicants for employment.

  • Lead counsel defending a consumer reporting agency in a nationwide putative class action brought in Delaware under the Fair Credit Reporting Act addressing access to underlying raw data.

  • Lead counsel in performing company-wide audits of wage and hour practices, benefits programs and other company human resources practices, focusing on potential waste and inefficiency, in addition to regulatory compliance.

  • Lead counsel in investigating the electronic and physical security of the facilities of a prominent energy provider.

  • Secured additional defense costs coverage for the benefit of an indigent care fund following the filing of multiple, related lawsuits filed by physicians against the wind-down entity holding the fund.

  • Lead counsel representing a manufacturer of radioactive source material in trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty litigation in Louisiana, including representing the manufacturer in related regulatory proceedings before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

  • Lead counsel defeating, on a motion to dismiss, a putative class action filed in Kansas alleging that educational records were obsolete under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

  • Lead counsel in investigating a series of alleged gender bias claims against certain executives of a regional energy provider, working in tandem with the company’s internal ethics program.

  • Primary outside counsel and national coordinating counsel for several providers of self-insured benefit plans and providers of reference based pricing benefit plans in nationwide litigation, including in California, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas.

  • Represented Chime Solutions in a loan facility transaction with ExWorks Capital. AGG was able to close the initial credit facility within 26 hours of receipt of the term sheet. The loan facility will support Chime’s facility expansion and working capital needs. Atlanta-based Chime provides U.S.-based customer contact services for clients in financial services, insurance, healthcare, telecommunications and other industries.

  • Lead arbitration counsel securing a complete defense verdict in in favor of a leading, international IT solutions provider against the gender discrimination and retaliation claims brought by a former high-ranking female executive after she was terminated following an internal investigation into allegations that she was engaging in discriminatory hiring practices. Through detailed e-discovery efforts, we discovered evidence proving that the executive was using code words for her hiring preferences – evidence that shattered her credibility.

  • Lead arbitration counsel securing a complete defense verdict at trial in favor of a nationwide employee benefits provider, against breach of contract claims brought by a former sales executive who was seeking over $4 million in damages.

  • Lead counsel in a series of internal investigations of retaliation and Code of Conduct claims brought against various executives of a national energy company.

  • Lead counsel defending a consumer reporting agency in a nationwide putative class actions brought in Ohio and Mississippi under the Fair Credit Reporting Act addressing background checks run for applicants seeking on-site access to several major railroad properties.

  • Lead counsel successfully representing a preeminent worldwide financial services and private wealth firm defeat defamation and invasion privacy claims brought by a departed executive advisor.

  • Lead counsel successfully representing a nationwide information service provider in an arbitration brought in Rhode Island seeking to bring the company’s practices within the ambit of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

  • Lead counsel for a national pipeline company in the restructuring of its twenty-plus state workforce, including providing management training, risk analysis, and handling all transactional aspects of the restructuring, including for the company’s union and non-union workforce. As lead trial counsel, Henry then secured summary judgment in favor of the company against an age discrimination claim flowing from the restructuring, with the trial court specifically commenting that the process for implementing the restructuring was fair, non-discriminatory and undertaken in good faith. This ruling was then affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

  • Lead counsel successfully resolving a portfolio of claims against a consumer reporting agency, the majority of which pre-litigation, including claims in California, Georgia and Texas.

  • Lead counsel for a national supplier of motor fuels in its workforce integration and combination of several businesses, including providing guidance on various changes in control plans, union restructuring and related dispute avoidance.

  • Lead counsel in conducting a series of comprehensive audits of a national energy company’s human resources, salary and compensation and benefits practices, including developing proactive plans to address issues discovered in the audits and to promote best practices on a going forward basis.

  • Lead counsel successfully representing a consumer reporting agency secure the prompt dismissal of a putative nationwide class action filed in California that remains pending against other defendants.

  • Lead counsel for the nation’s leading hospital linen service provider in the multi-phase restructuring of its twenty-plus state workforce, including providing management training, risk analysis, and handling all transactional aspects of the restructuring, including for its union and non-union workforce. No lawsuits were filed by any employees displaced by this restructuring.

  • Lead trial counsel securing a jury verdict in favor of a national pipeline company its defense of an age discrimination lawsuit brought by a senior engineer following his termination, with no resulting appeal. The jury needed less than an hour to deliberate and decide in favor of the company despite the sympathetic plaintiff and millions of dollars at stake.

  • Lead counsel successfully representing an international manufacturer of graphic films secure the recovery of earn out payments and defeat claims in excess of $50 million brought by the former President of one of its divisions following years of litigation and arbitration in California.

  • Lead counsel successfully resolving, on very favorable terms, a proposed nationwide putative class action brought in Georgia under the Fair Credit Reporting Act against a company providing payroll agent services under various public health programs.

  • Successfully represented a nationwide radiology company in two lawsuits brought in Georgia involving departing physician shareholder groups who then competed against our clients. These lawsuits involved extensive breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and competition issues, and both were resolved on very favorable terms to our clients.

  • Co-counsel representing a national healthcare supplier in breach of fiduciary and competition litigation in California arising out of the loss of a key market after the departure of a key executive to a start-up competitor resulting in tens of millions of dollars in damages.

  • Lead counsel successfully representing a regional heating and air conditioning company defend against breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims filed by a former executive who was alleging diminution in his ownership interests following his departure to form a competing enterprise.

  • Served as lead counsel and secured reimbursement in coverage litigation for defense costs incurred by a faith-based organization following contentious litigation over the control of a Georgia university that alleged myriad fiduciary duty claims.

  • Lead counsel representing the co-owner of a national credit company achieve control of the company through the filing of a corporate dissolution action against his former equal majority owner in the company.

  • Lead counsel representing several employee benefit plans, third-party administrators and service providers in two lawsuits brought in Nebraska regarding whether PPO networks apply to claims submitted by multiple provider hospitals.

  • Lead counsel in lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions involving the integrity of reference based pricing benefit plans, and the protection of plan participants against balance billing under various forms of employee benefit plans.

  • Lead trial counsel securing summary judgment for certain heirs of the estate of one of the top executives of a multi-billion dollar public company in a dispute with other heirs over ERISA benefits flowing from the executive’s death, which then was affirmed on appeal by the Eleventh Circuit.

  • Advised a preeminent national healthcare provider in providing guidance to directors and officers in negotiations over the withdrawal of financial assistance to a Georgia rural hospital.

  • Lead counsel representing several management teams in executive contract and compensation negotiations as part of billions of dollars of acquisitions by leading technology companies, including Cisco Systems and IBM.

  • Co-counsel for national insurer in negotiations over potential coverage for hundreds of millions of dollars of alleged loss arising out of product recall claims filed by an international beverage company arising out of its operations in the European Union.

  • Secured full indemnity coverage from five separate insurers for a national pipeline company to resolve a very serious personal injury lawsuit filed in Beaumont, Texas seeking in excess of $50 million. Full coverage was secured after extensive negotiations, including three mediations, with plaintiff’s counsel and all involved insurers.

  • Lead counsel defending a national nursing home company in three company-wide putative actions brought in Pennsylvania and North Carolina under the Fair Labor Standards Act focusing on meal break and related timekeeping practices.

Credentials

  • University of North Carolina School of Law, Juris Doctor,
    with Honors
    • Order of the Coif
    • Editor-in-Chief, North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation, 1992-93
  • Duke University, Bachelor of Arts - Public Policy Studies and Economics
  • State of Georgia 1993
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
    • Employment Law Alliance
      • Vice President
      • Board of Directors
      • Global Business Development Committee, Co-Chair
      • North American Membership Committee, Former Vice Chair
      • Representative for AGG, Exclusive Georgia Member Firm
    • American Bar Association, Section of Labor and Employment, EEO Committee
    • National Association of Professional Background Screeners (“NAPBS”)

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers in America®, Employment Law – Management, 2018-24
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers, Labor and Employment, 2009-11, 2013-23
  • Georgia Super Lawyers, 2008-22
  • “Legal Elite,” Georgia Trend, 2009-16, 2020
  • “Rising Star,” Georgia Super Lawyers, 2005-06

News & Insights

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