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 that govern the modern employment relationship. Tory assists clients with day-to-day issues such as recruiting and hiring, accommodation requests, discipline and corrective action, and terminations. He helps clients to implement practical policies that comply with applicable law and to find creative solutions to challenging situations in the workplace. Tory regularly represents employers in various industries, including higher education, manufacturing, local government, and health care.
Since 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 employment guidance and challenges, 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 interests. 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 (EEOC) and the N.C. 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. Tory lives in the Sedgefield neighborhood of Charlotte with his wife, Alicia, and son, Gavin.