Shafeeqa W. Giarratani Office Managing Shareholder Austin 512-344-4723 shafeeqa.giarratani@ogletree.com Shafeeqa Giarratani is co-managing shareholder of the Austin office of Ogletree Deakins. She represents employers in federal and state court and before administrative agencies and regulatory agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Shafeeqa has been recognized both locally and nationally as a skilled advocate. Shafeeqa was named by Law 360 as a 2016 Rising Star, one of only seven employment lawyers in the country to receive such a distinction. Shafeeqa has also been named repeatedly as a Super Lawyer Texas Rising Star and was featured in Bloomberg BNA for her commitment to her clients. She is a strong advocate for her clients and regularly handles litigation matters at both the trial and appellate level, in alternative dispute resolution and before governmental agencies. Shafeeqa has represented management in civil rights, wrongful discharge, Family and Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, employment tort, defamation, breach of contract, tortious interference and other employment-related charges and litigation. Shafeeqa also specializes in advising clients on whistleblower employment issues, in particular retaliation cases under the False Claims Act. She advises clients on appropriate handling of whistleblowers and regularly handles litigation in this area. Shafeeqa also regularly advises clients that are federal contractors on affirmative action, legislative and regulatory changes affecting employment matters for federal contractors and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (OFCCP) compliance issues, from developing affirmative action plans to representing companies during the audit process. Shafeeqa also performs supervisory training seminars, prepares and reviews personnel handbooks and policies and advises clients regarding employee retention and termination. Admitted to Practice Texas Education J.D., with honors, Harvard Law School, 2005 A.B., with honors, Harvard University, 2001 Honors and Awards
The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers (2017) Under 40 Hot List, Benchmark Litigation, Euromoney PLC (2016) LMG Rising Star, Labor and Employment, Euromoney PLC (2016) Chambers USA, Texas: Labor & Employment, Chambers & Partners (2012 - present) Lawyer on the Rise, Texas Lawyer (2016) Law360 Rising Star, Employment, Law360 (2016) Texas Rising Star, Thomson Reuters (2010, 2016) Appreciation Award for Pro Bono Legal Representation, Austin Korean Association Practice and Industry Groups Employment Law Experience Litigation and Appeals Argued before the Fifth Circuit Title VII case regarding retaliation and hostile work environment and achieved affirmance on appeal of dismissal Argued before the Fifth Circuit workers' compensation retaliation case and achieved affirmance on appeal of dismissal Argued before the Third Court of Appeals and achieved affirmance on appeal of dismissal for a leading manufacturer of microcontrollers, microprocessors and semiconductors in a race discrimination lawsuit Lead attorney (First-chair) for a technology company in a sex and pregnancy wrongful termination and promotion federal jury trial, which resulted in a defense verdict Lead attorney (First-chair) for a technology company in an age discrimination wrongful termination state jury trial, which resulted in a defense verdict Lead attorney in preparing briefing and oral argument before the Third Court of Appeals for Texas in a retaliation, gender and race discrimination case Lead attorney in arguing summary judgment in Texas state court for discrimination and retaliation claim, which resulted in dismissal of entire case Lead attorney in arguing complex discovery issues in a Motion to Compel hearing in a defamation case, which resulted in a favorable verdict and led to voluntary dismissal of the case
Second-chair for a semiconductor company in an age discrimination wrongful termination federal jury trial, which resulted in a defense verdict Second-chair for a high-tech company in an age discrimination failure to promote arbitration, which resulted in a defense verdict Served on team of attorneys for a trucking company in an sex discrimination wrongful termination arbitration, which resulted in a defense verdict Served on team of attorneys for a high-tech company in a multi-plaintiff arbitration involving failure to promote and wrongful termination claims, which resulted in a favorable verdict Secured favorable rulings on summary judgment for an insurance company in a workers' compensation retaliation lawsuit Secured favorable rulings on summary judgment for a construction company in a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit Assisted in preparing an appellate brief in an employment retaliation case before the Texas Court of Appeals and Texas Supreme Court, which resulted in a ruling for the employer Assisted in preparing an appellate brief in a patent infringement case before the Federal Circuit Served as first-chair in over 15 jury trials for the City of Austin, which resulted in successful verdicts Government Investigations, Audits and False Claims Act Lead attorney in defending a financial services company in an OFCCP compensation audit, which resulted in a finding of Lead attorney in defending a large hospital in an OFCCP hiring practices audit, which resulted in a finding of full Lead attorney in defending high-tech company in an OFCCP audit, which resulted in a finding of Lead attorney in defending a consulting company in an OFCCP audit, which resulted in a finding of Lead attorney in defending a paper company in an OFCCP audit, which resulted in a finding of Lead attorney in contesting OFCCP jurisdiction of a large financial services company, which resulted in a finding of no jurisdiction by the OFCCP Served on team of attorneys in negotiating a conciliation agreement with the OFCCP, which resulted in a favorable settlement to the company Lead attorney in handling Department of Labor audit, which resulted in a finding of full compliance
Lead attorney in handling False Claims Act retaliation investigation Lead attorney in handling False Claims Act retaliation lawsuit which resulted in successful resolution for client Lead attorney in handling numerous EEOC investigations, resulting in finding of no cause Counseling, Training and Litigation Readiness Regularly advises clients on comprehensive trade secret protection and prepares enforceable covenants not to compete and non-disclosure agreements Regularly advises clients on handling whistleblower and retaliation complaints, investigations and claims Assists clients in preparing compliance plans for handling whistleblowers in the workplace Regularly provides counseling on a multitude of employment related issues, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family Medical Leave Act and Fair Labor Standards Act compliance Assisted multiple clients in establishing and performing self-audits of employment practices, including compensation Prepared litigation readiness and avoidance analysis and seminars and training for senior leadership teams, human resources, managers and employees Professional Activities and Speeches Professional Activities: Any Baby Can - Board Member National ILG - Board Member Austin Industry Liaison Group (AILG) - Co-Founder San Antonio Industry Liaison Group (SAILG) - Board Member/Legal Liaison Austin Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, former Chair American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section Speeches: Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar - ''Call the Hotline? Constructing a Whistleblower/Internal Complaint Program'' - San Diego - May 05, 2017 ABA, 2012 Annual Meeting - ''Handling the Challenge of Legal Representation When a Client Witness Opposing Party or Counsel Suffers from a Mental Disability'' - Chicago - August 02, 2012 NTILG - ''OFCCP Compensation Audits: Practical Tips on How to Prepare Your Organization'' - Austin - July 19, 2012 Dallas Bar L&E Section Luncheon - ''Surprise! You're a Federal Contractor What you Need to Know
about Federal Contracting and Employment Law'' - Austin - July 16, 2012 AHRMA Legal Update and Legislative Action Day - ''The Status of Arbitration: Is it Right for Your Organization?'' - Austin - June 19, 2012 2012 Labor and Employment Law Conference - University of Texas, Austin - ''Ten Key Human Resources Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)'' - Austin - May 17, 2012 2012 SWARM Conference - ''Behind the Scenes, What the OFCCP Really Does With Your Data'' - Dallas - April 10, 2012 AHRMA Credentialing Class Webinar - ''Overview of Key Employment Laws'' - March 20, 2012