GARY E. PHELAN is a principal in the firm's Employment & Litigation Groups. Resident in the firm's Westport office, Mr. Phelan represents employees as well as employers in a wide range of matters, including age and disability discrimination, wrongful termination, employment contracts and severance negotiations.
Mr. Phelan was previously a partner in Outten and Golden, LLP's New York and Stamford offices, where he handled discrimination claims before the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) and in federal and state courts. Prior to that, he was a partner at Garrison, Phelan, Levin-Epstein, Chimes and Richardson in New Haven.
Mr. Phelan has been recognized in the 1995-2012 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Labor and Employment Law; and the 2013 guide for his work in the areas of Employment Law (Individuals), Employment Law (Management), and Litigation (Labor & Employment). He was also selected as The Best Lawyers in America "Lawyer of the Year" for Employment Law (Management) for the Stamford, CT Metropolitan Region. Mr. Phelan was designated a Connecticut Super Lawyer, in the category of Employment & Labor Law (2006-2012). He is recognized as a "Local Litigation Star" in Connecticut by Benchmark Litigation, The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys, in the area of Employment.
Mr. Phelan is admitted to practice in Connecticut; New York; and the U.S. District Courts, District of Connecticut, Northern District of New York and Southern District of New York. He is also admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Phelan has written extensively on the subject of workplace discrimination, co-authoring Disability Discrimination in the Workplace, one of the leading treatises on disability law. He has written and lectured on a wide range of employment-related topics and was an adjunct professor for several years at the Quinnipiac University School of Law. He was the President of the Connecticut Employment Lawyers Association, was the co-chair of the Disability Rights Committee for the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and served on NELA's Executive Board. He is presently on the Advisory Board for the Center for Work Life Law, the Board of Directors of A Better Balance, the Board of Directors of the Westport Arts Center, and the Board of Directors of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc. Mr. Phelan also serves on the New York Advisory Board to Disability Rights Advocates.
Mr. Phelan received his B.A. from Siena College in 1982 and his J.D. from Albany Law School in 1987.