Michal Shinnar

Contact

Greenbelt, MD
P: (240) 553 1802

Michal Shinnar

Senior Counsel

Michal Shinnar is Senior Counsel in the firm’s Labor & Employment Law and Whistleblower practice groups. She has a long track record of vigorously advocating for the rights of employees in many sectors and stations, from executives to low wage workers, and has helped recover millions of dollars for her clients. Ms. Shinnar has successfully represented employees in sex discrimination, disability discrimination, sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, race discrimination, age discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, non-compete agreements, and unpaid wages cases. Her practice includes all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, disability accommodations, employment contracts, non-competes, severance agreements, and wage and hour disputes. She was part of the litigation team that won the highly publicized $43.8 million settlement in Breen v. FAA, which made history as the highest settlement in an age discrimination case against the federal government. 

Ms. Shinnar has been recognized by her peers through appointments to leadership positions in her bar associations, and has been repeatedly invited to speak on key employment law topics. She currently serves as the chair of the National Employment Lawyers’ Association (NELA) Disability Law Practice Group and on the board of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers' Association (MWELA), where she chairs MWELA’s Luncheon Seminar speaker program.

Ms. Shinnar joined the firm in 2021 after over eight years of practicing at plaintiff-side employment law firms and having clerked for an Administrative Judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Ms. Shinnar received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law where she was a Stein Scholar, Public Interest Law Fellow. She received the Donald J. Feerick Prize in Labor Law and the Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award, summa cum laude, as well as served as an editor on the Moot Court Team and a journal. During law school, she interned for the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor. She holds a B.A., cum laude, in History and Psychology from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Prior to law school, Ms. Shinnar worked as the psychiatry research coordinator for a major behavioral health hospital, where she worked on clinical studies for improved pharmacological treatments for patients with schizophrenia and other severe psychotic disorders.

Ms. Shinnar presented her research findings at the American Psychiatric Association's annual conference. Her background in medical research informs her work advocating for individuals with disabilities, as well as guides her work with statistical data in class action cases. Ms. Shinnar believes in a client centric approach to cases, where plans a case strategy around the client’s personal and professional goals. She believes in being thorough, tenacious, and strategic to advocate for her clients.

Education
  • Barnard College, Columbia University, B.A., 2006, Cum Laude, Deans’ List
  • Fordham University, J.D., 2011, Stein Scholar, Public Interest Law Fellow
Bar Admissions
  • New Jersey, 2012
  • Maryland, 2015
Court Admissions
  • District of Maryland
  • District of D.C.
  • Court of Federal Claims
Speaking Engagements
  • MWELA and College of Labor and Employment Lawyers Panel on Best Practices and Professionalism with Fourth Circuit: October 2021. Moderator.
  • Federal Bar Association & MWELA Panel at the District of Maryland on Motions Practice: October 2020: Topic: Motions for Summary Judgment (on panel with U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander)
  • Maryland State Bar Association Annual Conference: June 2020: Topic: Invisible Disabilities
  • Annual NELA Conference: New Orleans, LA, June 2019. Topic: Anatomy of an ADA Case
  • Annual NELA Conference: Philadelphia, PA, June 2020. Topic: Trial Strategies for Disability Cases
  • Annual MWELA Conference: Washington, D.C. Feb. 2019: Topic: Pregnancy & Family Responsibilities Discrimination
  • TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund and National Women’s Law Center Webinars: The Intersections of Disability Discrimination and Sex Harassment: Part I:  An Introduction to the Issues. Feb. 2019; Part II: Guidance for Litigating Attorneys. March 2019
  • D.C. Women’s Bar Association:  Nov. 2018. Topic: Legal Protections for Employees Experiencing Infertility
  • Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, Baltimore MD: March 2021. Topic: Essential Functions Under Title I of the ADA
  • Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, Baltimore MD: March 2019. Topic: Undue Burdens Under Title I of the ADA
  • Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, Baltimore MD: March 2018. Topic: Strategies for Bringing Charges at the EEOC
  • Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, Baltimore MD: March 2017. Topic: Disability Accommodations for Federal Employees
  • Maryland State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Newsletter Fall 2016. Topic: Employment Discrimination Against Survivors of Domestic Violence
Professional Associations and Memberships
  • National Employment Lawyers’ Association (“NELA”) Co-Chair of Disability Law Practice Group
  • Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association (“MWELA”) Board Member
  • Disability Rights Bar Association (“DRBA”) Member
  • Women’s Bar Association of D.C. Member;
  • Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund. Member;
  • D.C. Trial Lawyers’ Association, Member.

Contact Michal Shinnar

no more than 250 characters
no more than 250 characters