Attorney Shawndra Jones partners with employers to help them comply with labor and employment laws as they pursue their goals, including those related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She also counsels employers on questions arising at the intersection of technology and the workplace. Shawndra has spoken extensively on legal and ethical issues associated with social media and other digital platforms.
Shawndra’s experience includes advising employers on complying with applicable laws, rules, and regulations concerning diverse labor and employment issues, such as family and medical leave, disability accommodation, wage and hour matters, anti-discrimination, and workplace privacy. She drafts or updates provisions for employment applications, employee handbooks, offer letters, and separation agreements. She also presents trainings or seminars on topics such as bystander intervention, anti-harassment, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and use of technology, for non-managerial employees, managers, human resources professionals, and in-house counsel.
She represents clients in labor and employment-related litigation before state and federal courts and administrative agencies and has served as a secondee within an in-house legal team at a global financial services institution. Since 2018, Shawndra has co-authored updates to the Civil Discovery Issues chapter of Practising Law Institute’s treatise on Social Media and the Law. She has lectured on social media ethics, including as a guest speaker for a Technology and the Law course created through a partnership between the City University of New York School of Law and the New York State Bar Association.
Before joining Epstein Becker Green, Shawndra was an attorney in the New York office of a boutique law firm, focusing on labor and employment matters, contract disputes, and commercial litigation. She began her career in private practice at a large U.S. law firm, working on commercial litigation matters including a trade secrets case.
While attending Columbia Law School, Shawndra was the editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems and co-chair of the Student Senate’s Graduation Committee. She externed at the Office of the New York State Attorney General in the Internet Bureau and in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York and interned for the Honorable George B. Daniels of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. After graduating, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Alvin W. Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
Focus Areas & Services
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Counseling; Employment Compliance Counseling; Employment Litigation; Employment Training; Employment, Labor & Workforce Management; Privacy, Cybersecurity & Data Asset Management; Remote and Hybrid Work; Social Media and the Workplace; Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility; Wage and Hour.
Industries
Financial Services
Recognition & Awards
The Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law - Management (2024); The Best Lawyers in America, “Ones to Watch,” Labor and Employment Law - Management (2023); The National Black Lawyers – Top 100 (New York) (2023); National Bar Association’s 40 Under 40 Nation’s Best Advocates (2016) and Excellence in Innovation (2016); The National Black Lawyers – Top 40 Under 40 (New York) (2016); Empire State Counsel® Outstanding Pro Bono Volunteer (2016); Empire State Counsel® Honoree (2013 and 2015).
Education
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
Professional & Community Involvement
American Bar Association (Section of Labor and Employment Law; Center for Professional Responsibility CLE Committee, Former Member); American Bar Foundation, Fellow; Association of Black Women Attorneys; Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, 2022 Fellow; National Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section, Executive Committee; Women Lawyers Division); New York City Bar Association (Judiciary Committee, Former Member; Former Co-Chair, Diversity in the Judiciary Subcommittee); New York State Bar Association (House of Delegates; Labor and Employment Law Section, Workplace Rights and Responsibilities Committee; Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Social Media and New Communication Technologies Committee; Women in Law Section; Chair, Committee on Continuing Legal Education; Committee on Technology and the Legal Profession (Former Vice-Chair); Strategic Planning Committee; Special Committee on Strategic Communications (Former Member)); Practicing Attorneys for Law Students Program (Former Mentor); Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
