ATTORNEYS
AT LAW
Specializing in complex civil litigation, including wage and hour, ERISA, securities fraud, and consumer class actions.
ABOUT US
At Connolly Wells & Gray, we firmly believe that society works best on a level playing field.
We fight on behalf of individuals and businesses that have been harmed by anticompetitive/improper business practices, as well as employees and consumers that have been harmed by unscrupulous business practices.
Our mission is to defend the rights of our clients, and devote our time and resources to ensuring that our clients get the best results. To that end, the partners of Connolly Wells & Gray have represented clients through trial and the appellate process, including before the United States Supreme Court, and have recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved individuals, businesses, and the classes they represent.
The attorneys at CWG represent individuals with disabilities who have been harmed by violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA guarantees equal treatment and access for disabled persons, including the blind and those who require the use of a wheelchair or other mobility device. Learn more.
PRACTICE
AREAS
The attorneys at CWG fight to protect the rights of employees across the nation to make sure they are compensated properly for all time worked on behalf of their employer. State and federal wage and hour laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), protect workers by requiring that all hourly employees are fully compensated for each of the hours they work. Learn more.
CWG attorneys protect the rights of consumers nationwide against unscrupulous business practices. CWG’s Consumer Protection practice encompasses a variety of litigation, including cases brought under state consumer protection laws against companies engaged in deceptive business practices, or false advertising designed to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals and businesses. Learn more.
CWG represents participants and beneficiaries of employee benefit plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1874 (“ERISA”). Learn more.
OUR ATTORNEYS
Stephen Connolly
PARTNER
610-822-3701
Mr. Connolly has extensive experience representing individuals and corporations in complex class action litigation throughout the United States involving violations of the federal and state antitrust laws, state consumer-protection statutes, and the federal securities laws. In addition, Mr. Connolly represents workers alleging violations of state and federal wage laws.
Notable antitrust cases in which Mr. Connolly served as class counsel include Marchbanks Truck Service, Inc. v. Comdata Network, Inc., Case No. 07-1078 (E.D. Pa.), which settled in January 2014 for $130 million, and In re Titanium Dioxide Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:10-cv-00318-RDB (D. Md.), an antitrust class action against the major producers of titanium dioxide, which settled in 2013 for $163.5 million. Mr. Connolly has also represented labor union health benefit funds against pharmaceutical manufacturers for delaying the entry of generic drugs in violation of the antitrust laws.
Mr. Connolly graduated summa cum laude from Penn State University and received his law degree from the Villanova University School of Law in 2000. He is a member of the bars of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New York, as well as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Gerald D. Wells III
PARTNER
610-822-3702
Mr. Wells has substantial experience in prosecuting class actions on behalf of aggrieved employees and consumers. This experience includes ERISA class actions, which involve claims against fiduciaries of a company's 401k plan for making imprudent investments. Mr. Wells has spoken at ERISA conferences on such topics as fiduciary liability and developments in ERISA jurisprudence. In addition, he has significant experience in litigating state and federal wage and hour claims against companies for failing to either (i) properly classify its employees or (ii) requiring employees to work "off-the-clock." He has been counsel of record in numerous notable decisions including, most recently, the Supreme Court's decision in the action styled Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symcyzk, 133 S. Ct. 1523 (2013). His experience and expertise in wage and hour litigation is well recognized, having been chosen to speak at a conference on recent developments in the field of wage and hour law.
Mr. Wells has served as class counsel in numerous cases, including Avangard Auto Finance, Inc. v. Great American Ins. Co., No. 10-cv-06849 (E.D. Pa.) (settlement of a consumer class action that provided for full relief for participating class members, who included individuals and business entities); In re Bristol-Myers Squibb ERISA Litig., No. 02-cv-10129 (S.D.N.Y.) (settlement of ERISA claims of 40,000 class members for $41.22 million plus structural plan changes valued at up to $52 million); Weaver v. Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P., Nos. 08-cv-529, 08-cv-540 (N.D. Ohio) (settlement of state and federal wage and hour claims for up to $19 million); In re Janney Montgomery Scott Financial Consultant Litig., No. 06-cv-3202 (E.D. Pa.) (settlement of state and federal wage and hour claims for up to $2.88 million).
Mr. Wells is a graduate of both Temple University and Temple University School of Law (J.D. 2001). While in law school, he served as the Symposium Editor for the Environmental Law & Technology Journal. Mr. Wells is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and California. In addition, Mr. Wells is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Eastern District of Michigan, Northern District of Illinois, Northern, Southern, Central and Eastern Districts of California and the District Court of New Jersey.
Robert Gray
PARTNER
610-822-3703
Mr. Gray concentrates his practice in the areas of ERISA, Consumer Protection, FLSA/Employment Law and fiduciary litigation, and has substantial experience in prosecuting class actions on behalf of aggrieved employees and consumers nationwide. Notably, Mr. Gray has significant experience representing employees in prosecuting claims for unpaid wages pursuant to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (the "FLSA") and analogous state wage and hour laws. Mr. Gray has successfully represented employees and attained results on their behalf for companies failing to pay all wages due to: (i) improperly classifying its employees as exempt; (ii) requiring employees to work "off-the-clock;" or (iii) failing to pay restaurant employees proper minimum wages and/or all their tips. He has been counsel of record in numerous notable decisions conferring federal jurisdiction over hybrid actions involving claims under both federal and state wage law within the Third Circuit. In addition, Mr. Gray is experienced in prosecuting ERISA class actions, which involve claims against fiduciaries of a company's 401k plan for making imprudent investments. Mr. Gray also considerable experience representing consumers nationwide for claims involving unfair debt collection practices, unfair trade practices – including violation of consumer protection laws, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Mr. Gray has handled mediations before some of the most respected mediators in the nation and has served as class counsel in numerous class and collective actions nationwide, including In re: Staples, Inc., Employment Practices Wage & Hour Litigation, MDL 2025 (D.N.J.) ($42 million settlement on behalf of over 5,000 employees – representing one of the largest retail misclassification cases outside of California; In re AXA Wage and Hour Litigation, No. 06-cv-4291 (N.D. CA) ($6.5 Million Settlement on behalf of nationwide class of financial representatives0; In re Janney Montgomery Scott Financial Consultant Litig., No. 06-cv-3202 (E.D. Pa.) (settlement of state and federal wage and hour claims for up to $2.88 million).
Mr. Gray is a graduate of Temple University School of Law (J.D. 2000). While in law school, he received class distinctions for legal writing and trial advocacy. Mr. Gray received his Bachelors of Science from La Salle University with a dual major in Accounting and Finance. Prior to practicing law Mr. Gray worked as a Certified Public Accountant, specializing in forensic accounting. Prior to starting Connolly Wells & Gray, Mr. Gray worked for one of the largest plaintiff class action firms in the country.
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