Tory Summey focuses on employment counseling and litigation. On the counseling front, he helps employers navigate complex and ever-changing federal and state laws and regulations, including those related to the coronavirus pandemic. He advises clients about issues related to discrimination and retaliation, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), state wage and hour laws, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and employee benefits issues. Tory has represented employers in various industries, including manufacturing, retail, government contracting, life sciences, health care, technology, and education.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Tory has been a leader at Parker Poe in monitoring the dizzying legal changes facing employers and helping clients to react and adjust to these new challenges. Tory frequently writes client alerts about evolving guidance and challenges tied to COVID-19, and business and legal organizations have asked him to present to their members on those topics.
On the litigation front, Tory helps clients understand the risks and benefits of litigation while aggressively pursuing each client’s best interest. He has experience at the trial and appellate levels of state and federal courts, including the North Carolina Business Court, the N.C. Court of Appeals, the N.C. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Tory has defended numerous clients from lawsuits relating to alleged discrimination and retaliation and also pursued relief for his clients on various complex issues such as misappropriation of trade secrets or unfair and deceptive trade practices. Tory also represents clients in proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the North Carolina Department of Labor.
Prior to joining Parker Poe, Tory practiced commercial litigation for four years with a boutique litigation and bankruptcy firm and practiced employment litigation for two years with a large national firm.
Tory received his law degree from Wake Forest University, where he was a senior editor for the Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law and a teaching assistant. He was an economics and history double major at Davidson College, as well as a pitcher on Davidson's baseball team.