Shawna is a seasoned labor and employment attorney who draws on her experience in litigation and as a human resource professional to offer strategic advice and counseling.
After more than a decade in practice, Shawna focuses most of her efforts on preventative counsel and routine advice for employers. She works particularly often with employment agreements, including upon hire and at separation, such as noncompetes and executive employment agreements. Shawna regularly performs Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) audits, considering whether employees have been correctly classified as exempt, nonexempt, or independent contractors. She also audits clients for pay equity concerns and advises on the potential for discrimination allegations during layoffs and terminations. What she loves most is the long-term relationships her practice allows her to build with clients: Shawna often represents organizations over multiple years, offering day-to-day advice on employment matters, and she enjoys getting to know the details of how these companies operate.
Many clients today are grappling with the challenge of complying with a patchwork of state laws as they operate nationwide. Shawna has a special focus on employment regulations that tend to vary by state or even municipality, such as paid sick leave and vacation time policies and restrictive covenants.
In addition to her advice and counsel practice, Shawna continues to handle employment litigation, particularly class and collective actions and noncompete actions. She has previously represented clients before administrative agencies and in both federal and state courts, and she has managed investigations and responded to administrative complaints, including before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Colorado Civil Rights Division. Her experience as a litigator makes her instinctively aware of where potential problems might arise, and she drafts client policies and makes recommendations with past litigation at the top of her mind. Shawna also has a firm grasp of likely agency interpretations—particularly in her home state of Colorado, where worker protections have grown in recent years.
Prior to pursuing her law degree, Shawna began her career as a human resource professional with a graduate degree in industrial-organizational psychology. She worked closely with other human resource leaders and employment attorneys, giving her a very personal perspective on the client’s day-to-day world. Shawna understands firsthand where clients are coming from, and she offers advice that’s legal, practical, and actionable.