Summary

Shawna is an attorney in Taft’s Labor and Employment practice group.  She counsels clients on all areas of labor and employment law, including employee hiring and termination, employment agreements, personnel policies, harassment, discrimination, wage and hour issues, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and workers’ compensation.

While in law school, Shawna served as vice president of the Student Bar Association and as a research assistant for the American Business Law Journal.

Shawna received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Dayton School of Law where she was a Dean’s Fellow, a teaching assistant and business editor of the Law Review. She has a B.A. in psychology from Wright State University.

Awards

  • Honoree, Best Lawyers® “Ones to Watch,” Labor and Employment Law – Management (2025)

  • Honoree, Ohio Super Lawyers Rising StarsEmployment & Labor (2022 – 2024)

  • Forty Under 40 Honoree, Dayton Business Journal (2022)

  • Rising Star Honoree, Dayton Bar Association (2020)

Education

  • University of Dayton School of Law (2018)
  • Wright State University (2015)

Admissions

  • State - Ohio
  • Federal - Southern District of Ohio

Speeches and Publications

Publications

Presentation, “Public School Employees and Their First Amendment Rights,” Buckeye Association of School Administrators’ 2022 Fall Conference, Oct. 4, 2022.

Co-author, “Change Is in the Air: Ohio Adopts Major Reforms to the Civil Rights Law With H.B. 352,” Taft Law Bulletin, Jan. 19, 2021.

Co-author, “The Consolidated Appropriations Act: Another COVID-19 Relief Package for Employers to Follow,” Taft Law Bulletin, Jan. 4, 2021.

Co-author, “EEOC Issues Updated Guidance: Mandatory Antibody Testing Prohibited,” Taft Law Bulletin, June 19, 2020.

Co-author, “Employment Law Update: Which Laws Apply to COVID-19?” Taft Law Bulletin, March 17, 2020.

Professional Affiliations

  • Dayton Bar Association

    Member
    Leadership Class of 2019-2020

  • Federal Bar Association

    Member

  • Dayton Federal Bar Association

    Young Lawyers Division Chair

  • Ohio State Bar Association

    Member

  • Ohio Women's Bar Association

    Member

Community Involvement

  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Miami Valley

    Associate Board Member

  • For Love of Children

    Board Member, Dayton Chapter

  • Generation Dayton

    Member