Shane Blackstone

My practice focuses on all areas of employment law, with an emphasis on employment-related litigation and the proactive counseling of clients. I provide counseling to clients throughout the life cycle of the employment relationship – beginning with pre-employment issues such as pre-hiring screening and employment agreement negotiation, and continuing through employment termination issues such as separation agreements and employment-related litigation. I also regularly assist employers with the development of human resource policies and employee handbooks, negotiation of executive employment agreements, executive separations, and large-scale workforce reductions. I have conducted internal investigations for employers on a variety of issues from harassment complaints to large-scale employee fraud. I also counsel companies on the employment-related aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions. I have defended employers of all sizes in class and collective actions, multi-plaintiff, and single plaintiff cases, including employment discrimination and harassment claims, wage and hour claims (both class and collective actions), tort and contract claims, and ERISA benefits claims. I have particular experience in prosecuting and defending actions involving the enforcement of non-competition agreements and other restrictive covenants, as well as unfair competition, employee raiding, and trade secret claims. I have also assisted major corporate clients in a variety of complex commercial litigation cases, including class action defense, civil RICO, toxic tort, and consumer and common law fraud cases in both trial and appellate courts across the country.