BOSTON – January 25, 2016 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the nation’s largest labor and employment law firms representing management, is strengthening its presence in the Northeast with the addition of prominent Massachusetts attorney Robert M. Shea, who joins the firm’s Boston office as a shareholder. Shea has counseled and represented clients in employment law matters for more than 30 years and joins Ogletree Deakins from Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, PC, where he led that firm’s employment law practice group.
In his litigation practice, Shea represents clients across the country in employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, wage-hour, worker misclassification, and non-competition disputes. His agency practice includes handling cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, and numerous state agencies, including the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. In his counseling practice, Shea works closely with clients managing discipline and discharge, harassment, disability, wage-hour, non-competition, and reduction-in-force matters, and developing best practices.
“Bob is very well-known and respected in the Massachusetts legal community, and he consistently delivers on the virtues found in our Client Pledge,” said Mark Burak, managing shareholder of Ogletree Deakins’ Boston office. “He has handled increasingly complex matters throughout his career and affords this experience to his clients by both defending them aggressively in litigation and proactively by implementing litigation avoidance strategies. We are thrilled that he is joining us.”
Shea is serving his third term as the chairman of the board of directors of the Small Business Association of New England (SBANE). He also serves on the board of trustees of the National Small Business Association (NSBA), and as co-chair of the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education’s employment & labor law curriculum advisory committee. He is a former co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, where he has held several other leadership positions. He also serves as an arbitrator and mediator, and has been on the American Arbitration Associations’ panel of arbitrators since 1995. Shea earned his J.D., with honors, from George Washington University National Law Center and received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Boston College.
About Ogletree Deakins
Ogletree Deakins is one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. Premier client service, as outlined in the firm’s Client Pledge, is one of the firm’s top priorities and a cornerstone of its core values. U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” has named Ogletree Deakins a “Law Firm of the Year” for five consecutive years. In 2016, the publication named Ogletree Deakins its “Law Firm of the Year” in the Employment Law – Management category. Ogletree Deakins has more than 750 attorneys located in 49 offices across the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The firm represents a diverse range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 50 companies.