Harris S. Freier is a Partner and Practice Leader Chair of the firm’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice and Co-Lead of the firm’s Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Practice. Mr. Freier litigates employment law cases with a focus on restrictive covenants, class actions, and appellate matters and routinely handles age, race, religion, gender, and disability discrimination cases before state and federal courts. Mr. Freier is one of the foremost authorities in the region on restrictive covenants and regularly litigates high stakes trade secret litigations. He is a go-to advisor of companies who face data breaches or other malicious hacks.
Mr. Freier is a Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT) as well as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) specializing in U.S. privacy law. The CIPT and CIPP certifications of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (“IAPP”) certifications are “widely hailed as the gold standard in privacy certification because it is also the only certifications in the industry accredited under ANSI/ISO specifications and recognized under standards set by the International Accreditation Forum.” He is also a member of the IAPP.
Mr. Freier is a community leader, serving as the Chair of the Urban League of Union County, a Board Member of Temple Emanu-El in Westfield, and a past Board member of the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the New York City Workforce Professionals Training Institute.
Mr. Freier is a sought-after speaker and regularly is quoted in the media regarding his areas of expertise.
Mr. Freier has committed a significant amount of time to pro bono representation, winning a reversal of a summary judgment for his client in a prison abuse case before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Specializations
Privacy & Cybersecurity, Complex Commercial Litigation, Appellate Litigation, Procurement Law, Government Contracts & Bid Protest Litigation, Employment Law & Litigation, Trade Secrets & Non-Competes, Class Action Defense
Industries
Hotels & Restaurants, Transportation, Trucking & Logistics
For a description of the selection process methodology for each of the publications and organizations which have included Genova Burns LLC in their rankings or awards, please click here.
- Advised retail client regarding data breach and led process to notify affected customers, employees, and vendors, and served as liaison with various state regulatory authorities who had to be notified regarding same.
• Litigated matter in NJ where almost $1 million was stolen from a healthcare provider based on a hack involving wire fraud.
• Litigated matter in NY where $2 million was stolen from a real estate brokerage company based on a hack involving wire fraud.
• Represented Fortune 500 Company in related restrictive covenant litigations before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the Appellate Division of New Jersey resulting in two published decisions which established the current state of restrictive covenant law in New Jersey.
• Won JAMS arbitration in New York on behalf of an individual accused of violating a restrictive covenant and going to work for a competitor.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of an employer in its lawsuit against a former employee in the District of New Jersey after it was discovered that the former employee stole company emails in her final days of employment. Mr. Freier’s client was also awarded its attorneys’ fees.
• Led pension withdrawal liability arbitration against one of largest unions in country with liability of over $25 million at issue and achieved a successful outcome.
• Successfully represented a longstanding employer client before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in a hard-fought, four-year, relatively rare labor litigation against the employer’s union. The Third Circuit’s decision affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of the union’s claims and grant of summary judgment, which resulted in a victory for the client. This case involved claims by the union under Section 301 of the LMRA alleging that the employer improperly disciplined a number of employees in violation of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement.
• Successfully represented a Fortune 500 company in a non-compete matter before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the validity of clickwrap agreements. Mr. Freier was recognized as a “Legal Eagle” by Law360 for this case.
• Successfully represented a major bank in restrictive covenant litigation, obtaining temporary and preliminary restraints and ultimately liability at trial, preventing former officers of a subsidiary from poaching clients after they resigned without notice.
• Successfully had claim dismissed in a litigation in which a mentally disabled woman was allegedly raped by a co-worker at a New Jersey hospital and then sued the hospital for negligent hiring.
• Successfully litigated at the trial and appellate levels a disability discrimination case for a New Jersey hospital in which the plaintiff alleged he was terminated because of an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
• Successfully represented a major nursing home chain over the course of two years in a whistle blower retaliation case under CEPA in which the plaintiff alleged claims of age and national origin discrimination under the NJLAD. This culminated in a three-week trial in which a favorable settlement was reached on behalf of the client as the jury was deliberating.
• Was successful before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals when it affirmed the District Court of New Jersey’s summary judgment decision in favor of the client, a major media corporation, in race and age discrimination case spanning two-and-a-half years.
• Was successful before the District Court of New Jersey on behalf of a client being sued by a vendor’s employee alleging violations of ERISA and the LMRA.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of a major media corporation in the District Court of New Jersey in a suit in which the single plaintiff alleged claims of race, ethnicity, and ancestry discrimination as well as retaliation under state and federal law.
• Won a motion to dismiss with prejudice in a NJLAD disability discrimination case at the trial level where the plaintiff alleged a disability based upon a failed drug test.
• Won a partial motion to dismiss in favor of a major telecommunications company in the Supreme Court of New York, which dismissed the plaintiff’s wage and hour claims, significantly reducing the client's liability.
- The Urban League of Union County, Inc., Chair of the Board of Directors
- Temple Emanu-El, Westfield Board of Trustees, Member
- Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors, Member
- The Best Lawyers in America® 2023 - 2024
- ROI-NJ Most Influential DEI Leaders, 2021
- New Leader of the Bar 2015, New Jersey Law Journal
- Rated AV® Preeminent™ in Labor and Employment Law by Martindale-Hubbell since 2014
- Named to the Super Lawyer listing by the publishers of New Jersey Monthly and Super Lawyers®, 2021 - 2023
- Named to the Rising Star listing by the publishers of New Jersey Monthly and Super Lawyers®, 2013-2020
- Lead NJ Fellow (2014)
- Honorable Mention for Best Headline in Employment Law Letter: "Federal Judge Clears the Haze for New Jersey Employers in the Weeds with Medical Marijuana Users"
* No aspect of these advertisements have been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. See Awards/Honors Methodology.
