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Kevin W. Shaughnessy

Kevin Shaughnessy represents national and international companies in all facets of labor and employment law, including harassment, discrimination, civil rights and section 1981 claims. He focuses his general litigation practice on class action and multiplaintiff cases, and helps clients manage the impact of high-profile discrimination cases.

Mr. Shaughnessy has successfully handled numerous commercial and employment jury trials and appeals in state and federal court. He often provides counsel to clients on a variety of complicated and sensitive employment and corporate compliance issues. His union experience includes election campaigns, collective bargaining, arbitrations, unfair labor practice charges and proceedings before state and federal agencies.

Mr. Shaughnessy is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law. He has attained the highest rating (AV) by Martindale-Hubbell for his ethical standing in the legal profession, listed by Chambers USA, named by Florida Trend magazine as a member of Florida’s “Legal Elite,” recognized by the Miami Herald and Florida “Super Lawyers” as one of Florida’s Top 100 Lawyers, and he has been named in the past five editions of Woodward/White’s Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Shaughnessy was one of only 10 Florida employment lawyers to be recognized in The International Who’s Who of Management Labour and Employment Lawyers 2007, a British publication of Law Business Research Ltd. He is also recognized in the 2009 edition of The International Who’s Who.

Mr. Shaughnessy’s clients include FORTUNE 100 companies, major financial institutions, local and international businesses, and nonprofit, religious, and public sector entities.

Some of Mr. Shaughnessy’s more notable client work includes:

• Created and managed a crisis response team consisting of lawyers with a variety of specialties that successfully handled Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower claims and concurrent criminal and potential governmental investigations concerning alleged corporate wrongdoing or financial misconduct.
• Successfully defended the first claim brought under Florida’s controversial “Guns at Work” Law.
• Defended Orange County, Florida, in two purported class actions challenging the County’s affirmative action efforts. The case settled after denial of class certification and preservation of all affirmative action promotions and hires.
• Defended Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., in a 35-plaintiff Section 1981 case.
• Won separate sexual harassment jury trials involving a minority business enterprise and Orange County, Florida, the latter of which lasted six days and involved testimony by high-profile public figures and daily press coverage.
• Defeated a purported FLSA class action against a major restaurant chain by achieving dismissal with prejudice on the basis of an alternative dispute resolution procedure applicable to all class members.
• Successfully argued before the Florida Supreme Court on amendments to Orange County’s Charter.
• Filed a “Friend of the Court” brief and allowed by the Florida Supreme Court to participate in oral argument in a case challenging a tax exemption for religious publications. The exemption was preserved, and Mr. Shaughnessy was quoted in several publications, including a four-part New York Times series concerning tax exemptions for religious institutions.

Mr. Shaughnessy is a frequent lecturer on a variety of topics of interest to employers, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Violence in the Workplace, Sexual Harassment, and Avoiding Discrimination Claims. He is very active in the community, having been a board member of the Urban League, Chair of the Coalition for the Homeless Board of Directors, and Chair of the Bishop Moore High School Board of Directors. He previously served as Chairman of Bishop Grady Villas, an assisted living facility for adults with mental disabilities, and as a director of the Orlando Area Trust for the Homeless.

Mr. Shaughnessy is a member of the Orange County Bar Association (Labor and Employment Committee, Member and former Chair) and is a former Member and Chair of the Ninth Circuit Grievance Committee.