Areas of Focus
“I think and care deeply about finding optimal solutions for challenging personnel problems.”
Overview
Shira Franco, a partner in the firm’s Labor + Employment Practice Group, focuses on employment counseling, investigations, and litigation for financial services, technology, and advertising and marketing companies. She helps clients mitigate legal risks as they scale their businesses and provides them with practical guidance on the numerous laws impacting the workplace.
Banks, hedge funds, fintech companies, and other financial services and technology employers call on Shira for day-to-day guidance on workplace issues and depend on her exceptional skill in analyzing and solving personnel challenges. She anticipates the trajectory of legal claims brought by employees and resolves sensitive employment-related issues before they escalate. C-suite executives also call on her to negotiate their employment contracts, severance packages and post-employment restrictions.
When meeting with clients, Shira focuses first on gaining a clear understanding of the client’s business and culture. Then she helps develop legally compliant HR policies and workplace best practices tailored to the client’s specific workforce needs. When disputes arise, she leads investigations of harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims.
A well-prepared and tenacious litigator, she has successfully defended clients in race, age, sex, pregnancy and disability discrimination cases, in wage and hour cases, and in breach of contract disputes involving violations of confidentiality, noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements. From complete victories in employment discrimination lawsuits to winning dismissals of complex employee contract cases, Shira has an impressive record in prevailing for clients in federal and state courts and before federal, state and local administrative agencies.
Representative Experience
Advise a rapidly growing, private equity-backed technology company on employee onboarding, performance management, terminations and compliance related to remote personnel.
Counsel a leading global bank on internal complaints involving senior executives and other sensitive HR matters.
Handled the internal investigation of hostile work environment and retaliation complaints lodged by senior employees at a premier advertising agency.
Won dismissal on summary judgment of a complex multimillion-dollar breach of contract claim brought by a portfolio manager against a global investment management firm.
Represented one of the largest privately owned real estate companies in New York City, winning dismissal of numerous discrimination claims filed in administrative agencies including the New York State Division of Human Rights and New York City Commission on Human Rights.
Achieved complete victory for a publicly traded, multinational provider of automated material handling solutions and software in a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruling affirming dismissal of case involving FLSA, Title VII, ADEA, and Section 1983 claims.
Insights + Events
- Event NYSBA Annual Meeting – Women in Law Section | If I Had a Dollar: Breaking Down Pay Disparity and its Impacts in the Legal Profession and Beyond
January 19, 2023
- Alert New Federal Law Limits Enforceability of Predispute Nondisclosure and Nondisparagement Clauses Related to Sexual Harassment
December 8, 2022
- Alert New York Employers Required To Notify Employees of Electronic Monitoring
April 14, 2022
- Alert California Expands Restrictions on Employers’ Use of Non-Disclosure Provisions
December 13, 2021
- Alert OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Rules for Large Employers are Paused by Legal Challenges
November 18, 2021
- Building Connections: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion New York County Lawyers Association | Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives at Art Museums and Galleries: Effective Strategies in the Workplace
October 22, 2021
- Alert NY DOL Issues Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard and Model Plan
July 8, 2021
- Demystifying COVID-19 Complexities and Thriving in Uncertain Times Harvard Law School Association of New York City Webinar | Ready or Not, Return to Work is Coming to an Office Near You
May 19, 2021
- FAQ US DOL Releases Regulations Clarifying Employer FFCRA Obligations
October 14, 2020
- Alert New York State Permanent Sick Leave Law Takes Effect on September 30, 2020
September 23, 2020
- View More
Credentials
Education
- Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2001)
- Co-Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Women’s Law Journal
- University of California - Berkeley (A.B., with highest distinction, 1998)
Clerkship
Distinctions
- The Legal 500 United States® 2016-2022, Labor and Employment: Workplace and Employment Counseling
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business® 2022-2023, New York Labor & Employment
- New York Metro Super Lawyers® 2017-2023, Employment & Labor
- New York Metro Super Lawyers® “Rising Stars” 2016, Employment & Labor
Bar Admissions
- New York
- California
- Massachusetts
Court Admissions
- U.S. District CourtSouthern District of New York
- U.S. District CourtEastern District of New York
- U.S. Court of AppealsSecond Circuit
Associations
Member, Davis+Gilbert Health Insurance Plans Committee
Member, New York City SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)
Member, 100 Women in Finance
Member, Harvard Law School Women's Alliance