Shane Blackstone
Of Counsel
Shane focuses his practice on employment litigation, with an emphasis on non-competition, trade secret, and other restrictive covenant cases; wage and hour class and collective actions; multi-plaintiff and single plaintiff employment discrimination and harassment cases; and ERISA benefits claims. He also represents clients in complex non-litigation employment issues, including structuring large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), negotiating executive employment and separation agreements, and workplace investigations.
Key Matters
Employment Discrimination & ERISA Litigation
- Represented global luxury goods conglomerate in high profile multi-forum retaliation litigation brought by former executive; lead counsel at arbitration hearing resulting in decision in client’s favor
- Represented regional specialty pharmacy in multi-plaintiff age discrimination cases following acquisition and installment of new management team
- Represented global luxury fashion companies in a variety of single plaintiff employment discrimination cases
- Represented foodservice distributor in ERISA denial of benefits and breach of fiduciary duty litigation; settled on highly favorable terms following successful motion to dismiss
Wage & Hour Litigation
- Represented major financial institution in call center class and collective action alleging off-the-clock violation under the FLSA and Illinois law
- Represented global safety consulting and certification company in FLSA collective action alleging misclassification of engineering employees as exempt for overtime purposes
- Representation of an international construction services firm in FLSA collective action and state law class action alleging misclassification of construction manager employees as exempt for overtime purposes
- Represented international consulting firm in FLSA collective action alleging the misclassification of employees as exempt for overtime purposes
Non-Compete & Trade Secret Litigation
- Represented public healthcare information technology company in multi-forum non-competition and trade secret litigation; obtained settlement providing complete victory and significant monetary recovery to client
- Represented global luxury goods conglomerate in action to enforce non-competition obligations against executive and competitor luxury company; obtained preliminary injunction and substantial monetary recovery
- Represented one of the world’s largest hedge funds against a former employee based on misappropriation of trade secrets; obtained TRO and preliminary injunction ultimately leading to criminal charges against former employee
- Represented multi-national electronics company and its employee in trade secret misappropriation litigation brought by former employer
- Represented steel grating manufacturer in trade secret misappropriation injunction action
Significant Non-Litigation Matters
- Advise oil and gas industry private equity clients, and their portfolio companies, in variety of employment, restrictive covenant, wage and hour compliance, and workplace issues
- Represent variety of federal contractor clients in OFCCP audits; advise clients on implementation of affirmative action programs
- Represented one of the largest international consulting firms through large scale restructuring actions, including advising business leaders on risks, WARN Act exposure, and adverse impact issues
- Represented one of the largest hedge funds in restructuring of operation and divesture of business lines to avoid WARN Act exposure
- Conducted numerous internal investigations for clients concerning a wide range of alleged misconduct, including pay discrimination allegations, sexual harassment and discrimination, and wide-spread employee fraud and double-dealing
Commercial Class Action Litigation
- Represented global insurance group in series of class actions alleging consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, and breach of contract in connection with the processing of workers’ compensation claims and the payment of statutory late fees
- Represented international financial services company in series of purported class and representative actions under California's Unfair Competition Laws challenging foreign currency conversion fees
- Represented national insurance company in 15 related class actions in various federal and state courts