A nationally recognized employment and commercial litigator, Joseph Gallagher helps C-suite executives, senior financial services professionals, as well as companies, partnerships, and startups, navigate disputes that carry significant professional and financial consequences. 

Joe’s employment practice centers on executive relationships before, during, and after they break down. He advises clients on matters involving deferred compensation, value compensation and restrictive covenants, executive hirings and separations, reputational risk, and sensitive internal investigations. Because he represents both individuals and companies, as both plaintiffs and defendants, Joe brings a practical understanding of the leverage points, sensitivities, and business consequences that shape executive-level employment conflicts.

Joe’s commercial litigation practice focuses on high-stakes disputes arising from contested business relationships, failed transactions, and alleged misconduct by trusted counterparties. He represents companies, investors, founders, and business owners in matters where money, control, reputation, or business stability is at risk. He has recovered millions lost in fraud schemes, litigated disputes between business partners or joint venture participants, and prosecuted and defended contract claims, business torts, and alleged violations of the federal securities laws. His focus is always on protecting clients’ business and financial interests and managing the risk of business disruption.

Before joining Glenn Agre, Joe was a partner at Harris St. Laurent, and previously practiced at Davis Polk & Wardwell and Freshfields US.

Joe has represented:

  • A senior banker against his former employer, a major U.S. financial institution, in a FINRA arbitration for improperly terminating him for cause, forfeiting his significant deferred compensation, and branding him with a negative Form U-5 disclosure.
  • The former CEO of an insurance company in arbitration against his former employer over millions of dollars in wrongfully withheld compensation and allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and other purported misconduct.
  • Several former members of Signature Bank’s digital assets group in litigation against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to recover millions in unpaid compensation from the bank’s receivership estate; defeated the FDIC’s motion to dismiss.
  • A broker-dealer conducting an internal investigation into purported trading irregularities alleged by a departing employee
    • More than 40 former Buzzfeed employees in arbitration related to the company’s 2021 IPO, and defeated Buzzfeed’s efforts in the Delaware Court of Chancery to block that arbitration.
  • A well-known activist investor in arbitration against his former business partner over significant breakup payments.
  • Multiple whistleblowers before the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.
  • A U.K.-based defense contractor in Delaware litigation against a U.S.-based technology company — one of its key suppliers — over alleged breaches of an exclusive reseller agreement and other contractual covenants.
  • The City of Portland in recovering $6.75 million stolen through a sophisticated fraud scheme.
  • A defendant in a now dismissed class action arising out of the fall of Signature Bank, which alleged billions of dollars of damages under the federal securities laws.
  • An entertainment streaming platform and its owner in litigation against a former joint venture partner involving allegations of breach of contract, defamation, business torts, and regulatory violations.
  • The board of managers of a condominium in Westchester County in bringing a RICO claim against the board’s former CFO for misappropriation of millions of dollars.
  • Benchmark Litigation – “Litigation Star” (2026) | Future Star (2024-2025)
  • Thomson Reuters – Super Lawyer – New York Metro (2022-present) | Rising Star (2018-2021)
  • Minimizing the Impact of Defaults in Commercial Arbitration, New York Law Journal (March 16, 2026)
  • Choosing Between an SEC Receivership and Bankruptcy, Law360 (March 11, 2021)
  • In Liu v. SEC, Disgorgement Survives, but With Conditions, New York Law Journal (July 28, 2020)
  • A Proposal for Efficient Post-Pandemic Justice in New York, Law360 (April 26, 2020)

CREDENTIALS

  • Georgetown University Law Center, JD, 2008
  • Williams College, BA, 2003, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit