Biography

Clients seek out John to litigate and provide counsel for their most important restrictive covenant, trade secret, and employment matters. He regularly assists clients with crisis or other emergent situations involving executive onboarding, departures, or misconduct; mass exoduses and raids; planned hiring of key employees from competitors; claims of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation; and incentive compensation programs, acquisitions, investments, and agreements between business partners, vendors, and customers. John is known for quickly dissecting the issues and understanding the dynamics of how a case will unfold before a judge, jury, or administrative agency, as well as its impact on a company’s business and reputation.
He has represented companies across the industry spectrum, including financial services, private equity, hedge funds, alternative asset management funds, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, retail, and technology.
John has expansive experience in restrictive covenant matters, encompassing matters involving non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-disparagement, judicial modification (bluepenciling) of agreements, clawback, and other remedial provisions. He has handled these issues in all 50 states and internationally.
John has developed a reputation as a preeminent employment lawyer. In 2016, he received the 2016 Lexology Client Choice Award in the Employment & Benefits category, an accolade that recognizes law firms and partners around the world who stand apart for their excellent client care and high quality of service. Since 2013, John has been recognized as a leading employment lawyer in Chambers USA, which notes he is a “a smart, sharp lawyer who is great with clients.” Since 2008, he likewise has been ranked nationally by Legal 500 in the areas of Trade Secrets and Labor & Employment Disputes. John also has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers, and is a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers.
Outside of his active practice, he is a noted and regular author and speaker on employment-related topics. John has been quoted by The National Law Journal, among other publications, regarding employment law and restrictive covenants. He also was honored with a 2013 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing for the article, “Can An Employee Steal Social Media Influence?” which appeared in Corporate Counsel in March 2012.
John received his J.D. from Boston University School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, from Harvard University.
Prior to joining Weil, John worked at another international law firm, where he served as both Labor & Employment Law Department Operating Partner and as Co-Head of the Non-Compete and Trade Secrets Group.
Firm News & Announcements, Speaking Engagements, Latest Thinking
Firm News & Announcements
- Weil Advises Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. in its Pending $960M Acquisition of Antares Pharma, Inc. Deal Brief — April 13, 2022
- Weil's 2022 Litigation Trends Report Firm Announcement — April 06, 2022
Speaking Engagements
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Inevitable Tension: Reconciling Public Court Access with Protecting Trade Secrets in Litigation
Speaker(s):
John P. Barry
May 9-10, 2022 — Denver, CO — Employment Litigation Practice Group Head John P. Barry will serve on a panel entitled “Inevitable Tension: Reconciling Public Court Access with Protecting Trade Secrets in Litigation” at the 2022 Sedona Conference on Developing Guidelines for Trade Secret Issues.
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Sharing Trade Secrets With Other Organizations
Speaker(s):
John P. Barry
December 13, 2021 — The Sedona Conference — Employment Litigation Practice Group Head John P. Barry will serve on a panel entitled “Sharing Trade Secrets With Other Organizations” at The Sedona Conference’s WG12 Annual Meeting.
Latest Thinking
- Commentary on Protecting Trade Secrets in Litigation About Them Publication — The Sedona Conference Working Group on Trade Secrets (WG12) — By John P. Barry — PDF — March 2022
- Litigation Trends 2022 Publication — By Weil’s Litigation Department — Spring 2022
- D.C.’s Ban on NonCompete Law Again Postponed Alert — Employer Update — By John P. Barry, Celine Chan and Rebecca Sivitz — PDF — March 2022
- Employment Law Trends Assessment: 2022 Edition Alert — Employer Update — By Weil’s Employment Litigation Practice Group — PDF — February 2022
- New York Expands Whistleblower Protection Law Alert — Employer Update — By John P. Barry, Celine Chan and Elizabeth Casey — PDF — November 04, 2021