Attorneys

Jeffrey A. Snyder

Partner

Before co-founding Shuman Snyder LLP, Jeff was with the Palo Alto firm Thoits, Love, Hershberger & McLean from 1990-2011, where he also served as the firm’s Risk Management Partner and General Counsel.

Jeff represents companies and executives in employment litigation, administrative board actions, arbitrations and mediations. His practice involves  a heavy dose of counseling and litigation avoidance strategy when advising companies in their daily operations, focusing on human resources counseling, potential harassment and discrimination claims, wage & hour and compensation disputes, severance pay issues and terminations. Jeff also handles cases involving intellectual property rights (trade secrets and restrictive covenants), employment contract disputes, and related insurance coverage (EPLI) issues.

Jeff has appeared many times in the California and federal courts, and before the EEOC, DFEH and the Department of Labor’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). He has been consistently named a Northern California Super Lawyer in Employment and Labor (www.SuperLawyers.com). Jeff has long served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Santa Clara County Superior Court, acting as “settlement conference judge” and arbitrator for the courts and local bar association. He has also testified in deposition and arbitration as an expert witness on the customary interpretation of terminology used in Silicon Valley executive employment agreements.

Representative Matters

• Defense of companies and executives in the California Superior Court and Federal District Courts, EEOC, Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH) in many cases involving sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, race, gender, national origin and age discrimination;
• Negotiation on behalf of companies and high-level executives of employment agreements, separation and release agreements, and complex equity and severance pay packages;
• Investigation of sexual harassment and other sensitive and confidential workplace issues;
• Risk management and preventative counseling, including development of employee handbooks and policies (including equal employment opportunity and sexual harassment policies, arbitration programs, sales compensation and commission plans, and e-mail privacy and information technology policies);
• Selected claims involving ERISA plan interpretation, claims dispute resolution, litigation and arbitration;
• Insurance coverage disputes involving employment practices (EPLI) and intellectual property coverage, and Directors & Officers (D&O) coverage for insured companies and executives;
• Expert witness testimony concerning proper interpretation of executive employment agreements;
• Mediations and arbitrations;
• Defense of companies in court and administrative proceedings at the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in wage & hour cases (including claims involving exempt/non-exempt status misclassification, overtime pay, missed meal and rest breaks, vacation/PTO issues, wage, bonus, commission, and penalty issues).

Articles and Publications

Jeff has been published as a Special Contributor to The Recorder and Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. In 2002, Jeff developed and launched the monthly bulletin, First Wednesday, to regularly advise clients and colleagues of current, thought-provoking issues and best practices to manage risk in employment matters.

Speaking Engagements

Jeff frequently speaks to companies, trade groups and industry associations on a wide range of employment law topics. A list of recent programs is found here.

Bar Admission

• California, 1990

Education

• University of San Diego School Of Law
  J.D. 1990
  Cum Laude Honors
  Law Clerk to Justice Gilbert Nares at the California Court of Appeal
• University of California at San Diego
  B.A. 1986 (Economics)

Volunteer Activities

• Canopy: Trees for Palo Alto – Board Member and Chair of the Governance Committee
• Palo Alto Area Bar Association – Past Board Member and President (1996-97)
• Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo – Past Board Member

Personal

Jeff lives with his wife and two children in Palo Alto, and enjoys hiking, biking, tennis, beach bocce ball and great movies.