Reid Skibell chairs the Employment and Trade Secrets Litigation practice. He is recognized as one of New York’s leading employment lawyers and is trusted by employers and employees alike when the professional and financial stakes are highest. His clients include senior executives, founders, partners, and institutions navigating disputes involving discrimination, harassment, employment and separation agreements, compensation, trade secrets, and non-competes.

Reid brings a dual perspective that is rare among employment litigators: he has enforced restrictive covenants on behalf of employers and challenged them on behalf of departing executives. That range means he knows how the other side builds its case, where it is vulnerable, and how it evaluates risk. When a key employee leaves with confidential information—or a senior executive faces overbroad restrictions—Reid moves quickly to protect what his clients have built or to secure their professional freedom.

Reid’s commercial litigation practice spans complex, high-stakes disputes. He secured complete dismissal of all claims in multi-billion-dollar financial fraud litigation against an international bank. He has secured and defeated preliminary injunctions in trade secrets and restrictive covenant disputes between direct competitors in the technology sector. He defended the world’s leading manufacturer of artificial turf fields in a multidistrict litigation, ultimately resolving it through a favorable settlement. He has also stepped in to replace large national firms on active federal court matters, taking over cases mid-stream.

Reid regularly counsels leading organizations in technology, financial services, fashion, entertainment, and manufacturing on contract disputes, business torts, corporate governance, product liability, and securities claims.

In his pro bono practice, Reid is pursuing a lawsuit against the Department of Education related to mass terminations in the Office for Civil Rights that threaten to stall thousands of student discrimination investigations—a case the firm undertook with Public Justice. Glenn Agre will receive the 2026 Shining Star Champion Award from Victims Rights Law Center, one of the plaintiffs, for its work on the matter.

Before joining Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes, Reid was a partner at Harris St. Laurent and previously practiced at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman and Davis Polk & Wardwell.

Reid has represented:

  • John Malkovich, as U.S. counsel, in a defamation action against the French newspaper, Le Monde, and two of its journalists. The defendants were ordered by a French court to pay Mr. Malkovich damages, and to publish on Le Monde’s front page and its website a summary of the ruling.
  • Credit Europe Bank in the successful defense of an $8 billion lawsuit brought by Dr. Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, the founder of NMC Health Plc, and NMC affiliate Neopharma LLC. Secured complete dismissal of all claims.
  • Tropic, a leading SaaS procurement platform, in two restrictive covenant disputes with its largest rival. Obtained a preliminary injunction in Tropic’s favor in one dispute and defeated an attempt by Tropic’s competitor to obtain a preliminary injunction in the other.
  • One of the world’s foremost data scientists in transitioning from his executive role at Bridgewater to joining Google DeepMind as its Chief Strategy Officer.
  • A former senior private-equity executive in a nine-figure arbitration against his former employer.
  • FieldTurf, the leading manufacturer of artificial turf fields, as co-lead counsel in an MDL and proposed class action related to allegedly defective manufacture of thousands of fields. The matter settled favorably shortly after FieldTurf sought summary judgment.
  • Honeywell in an employment dispute relating to the enforceability of restrictive covenants. Obtained dismissal of all claims.
  • A partner at an Am Law 100 firm in a sexual harassment case.
  • The former president of Thrasio in an adversary proceeding in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey brought by Meta Advisors, as trustee for the Thrasio Legacy Trust. The trustee alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, fraudulent conveyance, and insider self-dealing by former executives and directors in the months leading up to the company’s distressed recapitalization.
  • Invesco Senior Secured Management, Inc., a global asset manager, against an Ad Hoc Group, an appliance-parts maker, and its private equity sponsor in a six-day trial in the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court. The dispute involved liability management issues, including breaches of the relevant credit agreements and control of the appliance-parts maker.
  • Assurances du Crédit Mutuel, one of France’s largest insurers, in connection with Madoff-related investments. Obtained approval of petitions to the Madoff Victim covering eligible losses of over $25 million.
  • One of the architects of the purchase of Aman Resorts as plaintiff in a dispute involving $50 million in alleged damages.
  • Tarkett, a global flooring manufacturer, in multiple lawsuits relating to disputes with its vendors.
  • Lawdragon, Top 500 Leading Litigators, 2025 (see here).
  • Super Lawyers, Top Rated Business Litigation Attorney in New York, 2019-25 (see here).
  • Mentioned: Glenn Agre Expands Employment and Trade Secrets Litigation Practice with Leadership Appointment and Partner Hire (May 12, 2026) Read here.
  • Client Alert: How Imprecise Drafting Rendered Palantir’s Non-Compete Invalid (March 24, 2026) Read here.
  • Mentioned: When the Government Stops Defending Civil Rights, The New Yorker (Oct. 29, 2025) Read here (subscription required).
  • NYC Workplace AI Regulation Has Been Largely Insignificant, Law360 (Feb. 28, 2024) Read here (subscription required).
  • Ruling Shows New Potential For Retroactive For-Cause Firings, Law360 (Feb. 1, 2023) Read here (subscription required).
  • A New Path To Proving Lost Future Profits In NY Court, Law360 (April 27, 2022) Read here.
  • Choosing Between an SEC Receivership and Bankruptcy, Law360 (March 11, 2021) Read here (subscription required).
  • Restrictive Covenants and the Curious Case of National Law Firm Breakups, New York Law Journal (Oct. 30, 2020) Read here (subscription required).
  • High Unemployment May Threaten Restrictive Covenants, Law360 (July 1, 2020).
  • Potential Auditor Liability in the Wake of Colonial Bancgroup, Business Law Today (March 13, 2018).

CREDENTIALS

  • Columbia Law School, J.D., 2004
    • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
    • Young B. Smith Prize
    • Milbank Law & Economics Fellowship
  • London School of Economics, MSc, 2000
  • Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, B.S., 1997

ADMISSIONS

  • State Bar of New Jersey
  • State Bar of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York