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Susan Stobbart Shapiro

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Susan Stobbart Shapiro is a partner of Council Baradel and leads the firm’s labor and employment practice. She has been representing businesses and executives for over 25 years.

Susan has extensive experience advising business owners on preventing and defending employee complaints and lawsuits and other business matters including: contract disputes, non-competes and trade secrets, harassment, discrimination and retaliation, wage and hour and wage payment, National Labor Relations Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, employee handbooks, torts and related matters. Susan also represents executives and professionals regarding contract, non-compete, compensation, severance, licensing, and related matters.

Susan has successfully represented her clients in state and federal courts, before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights and various professional licensing boards, as well as in alternative dispute resolutions.

Susan is regularly asked to speak before business and legal groups such as the American Bar Association, Maryland State Bar Association, and Anne Arundel Bar Association. She is a regular contributor to the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s publication, The Barrister, and she tweets and blogs about legal issues facing the employer in today’s changing business world.

Professional Associations

American Bar Association
- Section of Labor & Employment Law
  - Social Media Committee, Co-Chair, August 2017 to August 2018
Maryland State Bar Association
Maryland Bar Foundation
- Member, June 2015 to present
Anne Arundel County Bar Association
- Member, Board of Trustees, June 2014 to present
- Assistant Treasurer, June 2023 to Present
- Assistant Secretary / Secretary, June 2021 to June 2023
- Administrative Division Co-Chair, June 2017 to June 2021
- Professional Development Division Chair, June 2015 to June 2016
- Editor, Anne Arundel County Bar Association Barrister, June 2014 to present
Judicial Nominating Commission August 2023 to Present
Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce
Chesapeake Regional Tech Council, Ambassador, March 2014 to May 2015
The Daily Record, Editorial Advisory, Board Member 2004 to 2007
Washington College Alumni Council, President 2000 to 2002
Marine Trades Association of Maryland, Board Member 2000 to 2002

Community Involvement

Historic Annapolis
- Board Member, May 2015 to 2020
- Chair, Governance & Nominating Committee, October 2016 to 2020
- Vice Chair of the Board, October 2016 to 2018
Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation
- Building Traditions Society Board Member, June 2015 to December 2017
- Stewardship Advisory Council Member, July 2017 to present

Speaking/Teaching Engagements

February 2023 – Speaker at Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce presentation discussing proposed changes in Federal regulations concerning non-compete agreements.
March 2022 – Speaker at Anne Arundel Bar Association CLE discussing the intersection of tax and employment law.
October 2020 – Speaker at Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation webinar discussing employee leave laws under COVID-19.
May 2020 – Speaker at Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce webinar "Legal Issues for Businesses in the COVID-19 World."
May 2020 – Speaker at Anne Arundel Bar Association webinar on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
May 2020 – Speaker at Queen Anne’s County Chamber of Commerce webinar "Moving Forward-Planning for the Post Pandemic World."
May 2020 – Speaker at Severna Park Chamber of Commerce webinar titled “Moving Forward: Business after Coronavirus.”
January 2018 – Speaker at Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce event on the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act.
September 2017 – Speaker at Council Baradel Wage and Hour Seminar discussing top tips for businesses to avoid employment-related lawsuits.
January 2017 – Speaker at Calvert County Bar Association Meeting, discussing gathering, preserving, and admitting social media evidence.
November 2016 – Speaker at Northern Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce seminar educating restaurant owners on best practices for protecting their restaurant against employee wage and hour lawsuits.
June 2016 – Speaker at Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation seminar educating business owners on the anticipated federal overtime rule.
May 2016 – Speaker at Anne Arundel Bar Association CLE titled, "Social Media Evidence: Tips for Preserving and Admitting It."
April 2016 – Moderator of a panel entitled, “Hiring Tech: Computer Games, Homework and Videos in Hiring and Onboarding” at the American Bar Association’s Technology in the Practice and Workplace Symposium in Washington, DC.
June 2015 – Moderator of the Cyber Security and Data Privacy panel at the Maryland State Bar Association's annual meeting in Ocean City, Maryland.
May 2015 – Panelist on Chesapeake Regional Tech Council's Workforce Development Forum's May 2015 presentation, "Driving Growth with Strategic People Practices". The panel, which also included a CPA, HR professional and a benefits specialist, discussed best practices to drive growth with strategic people practices.
March 2015 – Speaker at the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s Bar Weekend in Hershey, PA. Susan’s presentation was entitled, “CyberRisk 101: Advising your Clients (and your Firm) about Preventing and Addressing Data Breaches.”
March 2015 – Moderator of the ethics and cybersecurity panel at the American Bar Association’s National Symposium on Technology in Labor & Employment Law in San Francisco, California.
November 2014 – Presenter of a webinar to the Maryland Medical Group Management Association regarding changes to OSHA recordkeeping and reporting requirements becoming effective January 1, 2015.
October 2014 – Speaker at the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council’s Workforce Development Forum on a panel entitled, “If you Build it Will they Stay?” Susan and her fellow panelists (an excellent group including benefits, HR, accounting and people management experts) discussed common mistakes and successes in the employee retention realm.
May 2014 – Speaker at the American Bar Association Section of Labor & Employment Law National Symposium on Technology and Labor and Employment Law. Topic: Where Do We Go From Here?
October 2013 – Speaker at the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council Social Media Marketing Forum. Topic: “Liking” “Linking” and the Law: What Every Business Needs to Know about Employees and Social Media
January 2012 – Speaker at the Anne Arundel Bar Association / Anne Arundel Community College. Topic: Social Media (& Other Tech Issues) in the Workplace.
June 2012 – Speaker at the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council Social Media Marketing Forum. Topic: Social Media, Meet Employment Law – What your Business Needs to Know for Hiring, Employment and Terminating Employees in the Social Media Age.
March 2012 – Speaker at the Business Impact Group. Topic: Social Media, Tech & Employees…What your Business Needs to Know
September 2011 – Speaker at the Anne Arundel Bar Association Bar Weekend. Topic: Social Media in the Workplace.

Publications

Employment Law Blog at cbemploymentlaw.com
Editor of the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s monthly publication The Barrister.
Tweets as @StobbartShapiro

Honors / Awards

Super Lawyers 2015-2024
- Top 50 Women Lawyers in Maryland 2020-2021, 2023
- Top 100 Lawyers in Maryland 2020-2021, 2023
What’s Up? Annapolis “Leading Lawyer” in Employment Law 2014-2025
The Daily Record "Employment Law Power List" 2024
SmartCEO Magazine "Power Player" 2014
SmartCEO Magazine “Legal Elite” 2012
Baltimore Magazine “Top Lawyer: The Next Generation” 2003

Education

Villanova University School of Law (J.D., 1994)
Washington College (B.A., 1991)

Practice Areas

News

Blog Posts

Feel Like Screaming Already? The New Federal Overtime Rule Explained Paying employees at the minimum salary threshold, alone, is not sufficient to make an employee exempt from overtime.
New Year New Wage Laws for Non-Exempt Workers Effective January 1, 2020, the State of Maryland increased its minimum wage to $11.00/hour for most businesses.
Minimum Wage to Increase July 1, 2018 Maryland employers should be aware that the minimum wage in Maryland will increase effective July 1, 2018.
Maryland's Impending Sick and Safe Leave Law: Don't Wait to Review your Policies Currently working its way through the Maryland General Assembly is an emergency bill that is aimed at delaying the implementation of the new sick and safe leave law until July 1, 2018.
Understanding the New Maryland Healthy Working Families Act Maryland has passed the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act ("MHWF") – which has been commonly referred to as "the sick leave bill."
Warning: Recent Court Decisions Invalidate Standard Non-Compete Language in Maryland Recent court decisions have eviscerated some non-compete and non-solicitation provisions that Maryland employers have used for years. Generally speaking, non-compete and non-solicitation restrictions will be upheld if they are "narrowly tailored to protect a legitimate business interest" – but not if they are found to be "overly broad."
Non-Competes: Get More by Asking for Less A properly drafted non-compete agreement is a beautiful thing. Sadly, a large percentage of non-competes die on the drafting table. These deaths are preventable.
The Fantastic Four – Four Documents that All Employers Should Consider Every business is different, but the majority of employers would benefit from spending time with their legal counsel to review their basic employment documents. These documents are what I call "The Fantastic Four".
Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant Small business owners, you may be the most vulnerable to harassment and discrimination suits right now. Why? Because you have employees but aren't big enough to have a human resources department, and you feel that you are too busy trying to run your business to flesh out every rumor that you hear about employee complaints. This is where you put your business at risk.
The Real Congress Members of DC: Solving Employment Law Problems through Reality TV I'm bothered by the unnecessary complexity of employment laws. Solution? We harness the awesome power of reality TV to kick Congress into gear. The revolution will be televised.
Chaucer, the Prioress, her Lip, and your Employee Handbook Too many handbooks are written in a style popularized by bewigged and pompous barristers who practiced law circa 1791. This can cause employees to tune out.
We're Smiling at Each Other and Shaking Hands – What has Just Happened? Business owners and managers approach lawyers with complex problems. The lawyer lays out the options and related risks and the business decides which path it thinks is best. During these discussions, it is easy to focus on the path to the point that one loses sight of the goal. Without a clear goal in mind, there is little chance of choosing the correct path.