Shirley Jackson’s practice encompasses employment counseling and litigation for a wide range of employers. Shirley represents employers in litigation matters in federal and state courts and in arbitration on a wide variety of claims, including harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, breach of contract, retaliation, trade secret theft, unfair competition and class action and single plaintiff wage and hour claims.

Shirley also advises her clients on all aspects relating to the workplace, including hiring, worker classification, equal opportunity, anti-harassment, wage and hour, leaves of absence, employee separations, non-competition, non-solicitation, trade secret misappropriation and more. She has conducted and advised on numerous workplace investigations and regularly presents to all kinds of audiences. Shirley conducts anti-harassment and other trainings for employers with respect to ever changing aspects of California employment law.

In addition to judicial proceedings, Shirley represents clients before various regulatory agencies, such as the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Labor Commissioner’s Office.

Areas of Focus

Services

Sectors

Experience

  • Won a complete defense award plus attorneys’ fees while representing a marketing and advertising services company in a binding arbitration involving a claim for wrongful termination by a former executive.
  • Won summary judgment for a medical device manufacturing company in a state court action involving claims for disability discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to provide reasonable accommodation, retaliation and wrongful termination in violation of public policy.
  • Won a complete defense verdict for the world’s largest manufacturer of mozzarella and pizza cheese, in a federal jury trial involving a $1.3 million breach of contract claim brought by a Texas energy company – San Francisco Daily Journal listed as one of the “2006 Top Defense Verdicts.”

  • Won a $10 million award for a breach of contract claim, plus attorneys’ fees, in a high-profile binding arbitration involving complex real estate and tax issues.
  • Won a dismissal of all substantive claims asserted against an apartment complex owner in federal court by several fair housing organizations, which sought certification of a nationwide defendant class for alleged disability access issues in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
  • Won multiple favorable determinations from the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board denying unemployment benefits to the clients’ former employees after administrative law hearings.

Credentials

Education

  • University of San Francisco (J.D.)
  • California State University - Chico (B.A., Political Science; Psychology, magna cum laude)

Bar Admissions

  • California, 1999

Court Admissions

  • All California State Courts
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District California

Professional Activities

  • Santa Clara County Bar Association

Community Involvement

  • National Organization of Women Business Owners, San Francisco Chapter, Member and Committee Member
  • Project Homeless Connect, Former Volunteer
  • Rebuilding Together San Francisco, Former Co‑Captain and Volunteer