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
Honors / Awards
- Super Lawyers 2015-2025
- 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
