Porzio Principals Vito A. Gagliardi, Jr. and Kerri Wright to Co-Chair the Firm's Education and Employment Team

Porzio is pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2017, principals Vito A. Gagliardi, Jr. and Kerri A. Wright will co-chair the firm's Education and Employment Team. 

Porzio has more than 50 years of experience counseling and representing management on employment and labor matters. Our unique combination of skills has drawn diverse organizations to our firm, from Fortune 500 companies to small and mid-sized businesses in the life sciences, manufacturing, transportation, education, and retail industries, as well as public sector clients such as Boards of Education and police departments.

Vito Gagliardi represents school districts in numerous matters and handles an extraordinary variety of employment law matters for the firm’s public and private sector clients in state and federal courts, before state and federal agencies, and before arbitrators. He litigates and counsels clients in every area of labor and employment law, including issues of restrictive covenants, harassment, discrimination and whistleblowing. 

Mr. Gagliardi is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey's Board on Trial Certification as a Civil Trial Attorney. A Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated lawyer, he has also been listed by New Jersey Super Lawyers in the area of employment law since the list’s inception in 2005.

Kerri Wright has extensive litigation and counseling experience in numerous areas of employment law. She has successfully defended management in class-action wage and hour lawsuits and has handled numerous investigations by management into allegations of employee wrongdoing. Ms. Wright also has significant experience representing and counseling school boards, charter schools, private schools and colleges in a variety of areas. She is one of only a few experts in the State in the area of reconfiguring school districts, including the creation and dissolution of regional school districts and the creation and termination of sending-receiving relationships.

Ms. Wright serves as general legal counsel to the Hopatcong Board of Education. Also an elected member of the Chester Board of Education in Morris County, Kerri is serving in her fourth term. She served several years as the President of the Board, and currently serves as the Chair of the Board’s negotiation committee. She has successfully negotiated employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements with each one of the Board’s labor groups.

Porzio appreciates Vito's and Kerri's individual contributions to the firm and looks forward to the continued development of the team through their joint leadership.