"Lauren is a very responsive and smart litigator. She is solution-driven and her knowledge of employment law is amazing."
Chambers USA 2022

Overview

Lauren Shurman is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Salt Lake City office and a member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice. She focuses her practice on general commercial and employment litigation. Lauren helps businesses navigate a variety of disputes and compliance issues. She has handled litigation and arbitration matters involving substantive issues ranging from shareholder disputes to claims for breach of contract, tortious interference, defamation, fraud, negligence, antitrust, professional malpractice and negligent supervision, among others. Lauren represents clients across a variety of industries including technology, consumer products, and energy. She also regularly advises educational institutions on education law matters, including Title IX and Section 504 compliance, drawing on her experience as a past president and trustee of a charter school governing board. Lauren also represents clients in administrative proceedings and has handled administrative adjudications and appeals before the Utah Labor Commission, the Utah Public Service Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Utah Department of Health and the Utah State Board of Education.

Lauren regularly represents employers in matters relating to employment discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, the Family and Medical Leave Act, privacy issues, and non-compete agreements and trade secret law. She also advises clients on personnel policies and has assisted employers in developing employee handbooks, non-compete agreements, non-solicitation agreements and nondisclosure agreements.

Lauren has been recognized as one of “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” (Utah) by Chambers USA (Litigation: General Commercial) and has been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation) and Utah Business Magazine’s Utah Legal Elite (Civil Litigation) directories.

She is the past president of the Salt Lake County Bar Association and the current president of Women Lawyers of Utah. Her pro bono work includes partnering with the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center to litigate wrongful conviction cases.

Areas of Focus

Practices
Industries

Experience

Complex Commercial Litigation*

  • Soccer Connection v. Nike USA (D. Utah 2018) – Obtained dismissal of claims for breach of contract, promissory estoppel, and tortious interference asserted by retailer against Nike.
  • Arabani v. Farmers Ins. (2019) – Obtained dismissal of defamation claim on statute of limitations grounds.
  • Represented natural gas producers in disputes with midstream company regarding natural gas gathering and processing agreements. Obtained favorable summary judgment rulings on claims involving overcharges under midstream agreements.
  • Represented natural gas producer in dispute with midstream company regarding deficiency fees charged under natural gas processing agreement. Worked with industry and accounting experts to investigate overcharges and mediated resolution to dispute.

Employment Litigation*

  • Successfully defeated an action for a staffing and recruiting company agency seeking to enjoin an employee from working for a competitor based on a non-compete agreement with her former employer.
  • Defended an information technology company against claims for breach of non-compete provisions, breach of non-solicitation provisions, breaches of confidentiality, and tortious interference in connection with the sale of the company.
  • Representing a manufacturer against pregnancy discrimination, FMLA interference, and disability discrimination claims asserted by a former employee.
  • Murphy v. Farmers Ins. (2018) – Successfully dismissed negligent supervision claim and claims seeking to hold employer vicariously liable for assault and battery.
  • Obtained voluntary dismissal of lawsuit with zero-dollar settlement for manufacturer of truck semi-trailers in disability discrimination and failure to accommodate claims.
  • Represented employer in Sarbanes Oxley whistleblower litigation and mediation.
  • Represented a food manufacturer and distributor against disability discrimination claims asserted by a job applicant. Obtained dismissal of administrative appeal based on applicant’s failure to mitigate damages.
  • Defended a chain of convenience stores against Title VII national origin discrimination and retaliation claims brought by a former store manager. Obtained summary judgment in favor of defendant employer on all claims.
  • Represented an employer against invasion of privacy and wrongful termination claims by a former employee. Obtained summary judgment in favor of the defendant employer.

Education Litigation*

  • Defended private college against Title IX peer-to-peer sexual harassment claim and Section 504 disability discrimination claim. Represented pro bono plaintiff in litigation against school district in litigation involving Section 504 disability discrimination claims.
  • In re Jordan School District (2008) – represented Utah’s Jordan School District in an arbitration to divide over $1 billion in assets and liabilities between the Jordan School District and the Canyons School District.

 

*Includes clients handled while at former firms

Events

News

Education

Duke University School of Law, JD, cum laude
Stanley Star Scholar; Moot Court Board Member; Editor-in-Chief, Alaska Law Review

University of Utah, MS, Educational Psychology

University of Utah, BS, cum laude, Biology

Admissions

  • Utah

Activities

  • President, Women Lawyers of Utah, 2022–present
  • Salt Lake County Bar Association, President (2019–2021), Executive Committee Member (2007–2019)
  • Board Member, National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations, 2021– present
  • Co-Chair, Utah Judicial Council’s Standing Committee on Model Utah Civil Jury Instructions, 2017–present
  • Member, Utah Supreme Court Professionalism & Civility Counseling Board, 2018–present
  • Member, Utah State Bar Character and Fitness Committee, 2015–2021
  • Member, Utah Center for Legal Inclusion, Advancement Committee, 2018– 2020
  • Member, Utah State Bar (Litigation, Labor & Employment, Appellate, and Education Sections)
  • Trustee, Wasatch Waldorf Charter School, 2016–2020, (Chair, 2018–2019) Member, YWCA of Utah, Governance Committee, 2013–2016
  • Trustee, National Association of Women Business Owners, Salt Lake Chapter, 2015–2016
  • Trustee, Sugar House Park Authority Board, 2010–2014 (Vice President, 2012–2014)
  • Director, YWCA of Salt Lake City, 2010–2013
  • Volunteer, Utah Legal Services, 2002–2003
  • Selected as one of “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” (Utah) by Chambers USA (currently: Litigation: General Commercial), 2017–2023
  • Included in The Best Lawyers in America (currently: Commercial Litigation), 2022
  • Included in Utah Business Legal Elite (Civil Litigation), 2021
  • Recipient, Pro Bono Service Award 2017, Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association