Lauren A. Shurman

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.

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

• 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