Overview

Clients of all sizes and stages rely on Shawn Matthew Clark for practical, business-focused advice to help them understand and navigate the constantly changing federal, state, and local laws governing the workplace. In particular, clients engage Shawn for his deep subject matter knowledge in business restructuring and unfair competition issues, and his skills as a litigator.

Business Restructuring and M&A. Shawn’s relatable style and ability to analyze and explain complex issues in simple terms have made him a highly sought-after advisor to businesses planning workforce reductions and reorganizations. Shawn counsels clients on compliance with federal and state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Acts and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWPBA). He also partners with clients to create comprehensive reduction-in-force plans that include reasoned business justifications, defensible selection criteria, adverse impact analyses, multistate severance agreements, and a clear communications strategy for affected and nonaffected employees. No two businesses or layoffs are the same, but Shawn’s pragmatic approach works for layoffs of a handful of employees and layoffs of thousands. He handles every reorganization with sensitivity to the individuals involved and the impact on each client’s business.

Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets. Companies also turn to Shawn for help protecting their trade secrets and enforcing their noncompete, nonsolicitation, and nondisclosure agreements. Shawn drafts the agreements, and when necessary, litigates claims related to those agreements, including claims for breach of contract, misappropriation of confidential information, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition, tortious interference, and breach of the duty of loyalty. Shawn advocates for and defends his clients vigorously. On behalf of a global professional services company, Shawn obtained a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against three former employees based on breaches of their nonsolicitation and confidentiality obligations. Shawn also defended a noncompetition claim against an employee of a cloud-based data security company resulting in the denial of the request for a preliminary injunction and withdrawal of the claims.

Litigation and Trials. Shawn has extensive experience litigating employment disputes of all types, including defending employers and managers against claims of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. On behalf of his clients, Shawn has won dispositive motions, temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, defense verdicts, and appeals. He draws on that litigation experience to counsel employers on effective strategies for preventing litigation when possible, and preparing for litigation when it is unavoidable.

Shawn is a core group member of Littler’s Business Restructuring and M&A practice group and its Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets practice group.

Before entering private practice, Shawn gained significant litigation and trial experience as an assistant corporation counsel in the Labor and Employment Law Division of the New York City Law Department, where he represented the City of New York, its agencies, and its officers in employment litigation.

Before law school, Shawn worked in the United States Senate for members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), where he honed his communication and advocacy skills.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Member

Trade Secrets Committee

New York City Bar Association

Member

Labor & Employment Law Committee

New York City Bar Association

Program Co-Chair

Employment Law Institute

New York City Bar Association

Recognition

Named, Ones to Watch

The Best Lawyers in America®

2023-2025

Named, Rising Star

New York

Super Lawyers

2022-2023

Recipient, New York City Law Department Legal Rookie of the Year Award

New York City Law Department

September 2013

Recipient, Judge Doris A. Thompson and Judge Edward Thompson Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy

Brooklyn Law School

June 2012

Recipient, CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Trial Advocacy

Brooklyn Law School

December 2010

First Place Winner, New York Region

American Bar Association Labor and Employment Trial Advocacy Competition

November 2010

News, Analysis & Press

Are Non-compete Agreements Dead? A Discussion with Attorney Shawn Matthew Clark

New York County Lawyers Association

August 22, 2024

NYC Mandates Retirement for All

ASAP

August 17, 2021

Speaking Engagements

2024 Tri-State Regional Employer Conference

New York, NY

September 19, 2024

Navigating the Changing Landscape of Workplace Policies – Updates on Key Employment Handbooks, Policies, & Agreements

New York City Bar Association, 2024 Employment Law Institute

March 1, 2024

2023 Tri-State Regional Employer Conference

New York, NY

June 20, 2023

RIF Master Class

Littler Executive Employer Conference, Phoenix, AZ

May 10, 2023

The Seven Deadly Sins of Incentive Compensation Plan Hell

September 13, 2022

Homecare Consolidation: Employment Law Considerations That Can Kill Deals When Buying or Selling a Homecare Business

April 5, 2022

Education

  • J.D., Brooklyn Law School, 2012cum laude
  • B.A., The George Washington University, 2004

Bar Admission

New York

Courts

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York