Overview
Shelli serves as general counsel to many Illinois school districts and private schools. Shelli’s practice involves representing educational institutions on a wide range of issues. She regularly counsels clients and litigates matters relating to teacher discipline, discrimination and civil rights claims, and wrongful discharge. Her labor experience includes collective bargaining, arbitrations, union organizing campaigns, and defending unfair labor practice claims. As a trusted counselor for educational institutions, she is frequently called upon to handle difficult and sensitive personnel situations and to lead investigations and provide training to staff. She regularly presents on a wide range of topics including conducting investigations, teacher and student boundary issues, bullying, hazing and mandated reporting, Title IX, best practices in conducting evaluations, FSLA compliance, and labor relations.
Shelli is a member of the Illinois Council of School Attorneys and the American and Illinois State Bar Associations. She presented at the 2020 AASPA Seminar on “The New Title IX.” She is also a founder of the Women’s Network of School Administrators (WNSA), a professional organization formed to support Illinois female school administrators as they ascend into leadership roles.
She is consistently recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine.
Representative Experience
- Provides counsel and guidance in all aspects of teacher personnel matters, including evaluation, discipline, and dismissal
- Assists in negotiating collective bargaining agreements for teacher and support staff contracts on behalf of various school districts
- Advises school districts on reduction in force matters as well as compliance with PERA and Senate Bill 7
- Successfully represented school districts in several high profile tenured teacher dismissal hearings
- Obtained a favorable settlement in a class action FLSA lawsuit
- Regularly litigates in State and Federal Court for school districts
Recognition
Shelli was recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer from 2021-2023 by Super Lawyers Magazine. She is also consistently been named a Leading Lawyer by Law Bulletin Publishing.
Shelli was recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as 2018 Notable Women Lawyers for her distinguished career in the field of education law. She has also been named to the annual “40 Under 40” by Law Bulletin Publishing, which selects and recognizes 40 attorneys under the age of 40 based on nominations by their clients, peers and the legal community.