Susan Gross Sholinsky

"My clients have relied on me for five, 10, 15, and even 20 years, not because employment law is simple, but because I make navigating it feel that way." —Susan Gross Sholinsky

Employers facing the day-to-day complexities of managing a workforce seek out attorney Susan Gross Sholinsky for her straightforward advice and access to boots-on-the-ground resources, regardless of location.

Susan counsels executives, human resources (HR) professionals, and in-house legal teams at private equity-owned companies, financial services firms, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies, among others, on the full spectrum of employment compliance matters, including discrimination, sexual harassment, restrictive covenants, paid leave, and wage and hour requirements. A number of her clients are foreign multinationals with HR staff based in the parent country who are unfamiliar with the nuances of U.S. employment law.

Clients typically come to her at a moment of change—opening or expanding in the United States, hiring in a new state, closing a transaction, or responding to an internal complaint—when the cost of getting it wrong could mean unhappy employees, litigation, or both. She has developed long-term relationships with these clients by being a sharp, versatile advisor who genuinely knows their people, their business, and the stakes involved, and who makes even the most difficult workforce situations manageable.

A significant part of Susan's practice involves workforce training. She designs and leads programs on anti-harassment, “manager 101,” diversity, internal investigations, accommodations and the interactive process, and performance management. Her effective training style equips managers with the tools to spot problems early and boost productivity through safe, compliant practices. She also conducts one-on-one sessions with employees whose inappropriate workplace behavior puts both themselves and their company at risk. These sessions help employees understand the consequences of their actions and encourage them to change how they interact with colleagues. Susan also helps employers respond rapidly to social issues and comply with ever-changing federal, state, and local employment laws.

Among her many professional and community volunteer initiatives, Susan has served as New York Co-Chair of 50/50 Women on Boards: Global Conversation on Board Diversity and currently is a Trustee at the Dalton School. In 2020, City & State New York recognized her as one of the Responsible 100, an award honoring private-sector leaders whose work improves life in New York communities. She also received the 2024 Arts Advocate Award from Marquis Studios, a nonprofit organization that brings arts education to NYC public schools.

What Susan Delivers for Clients

• Compliance Without Reinvention: Susan and her team have built the agreements, policies, and processes that employment compliance requires—across industries and jurisdictions—and bring that accumulated knowledge to every engagement. Clients get practical, ready-to-deploy solutions rather than having to start from scratch each time.
• Acquisition-Ready Workforce Integration: When a company makes an acquisition, Susan literally writes the legal and compliance script: reviewing employment agreements, auditing benefits, analyzing wage and hour classifications, and drafting employee communications that make the transition feel seamless rather than disruptive.
• Agreements That Travel: Susan assists clients in tightening and modernizing their employment agreements and policies to be clear, user-friendly, and compliant in any state or city. Companies that operate across multiple jurisdictions no longer need a patchwork of documents for each location.
• Training That Changes Behavior: Whether she is leading a company-wide anti-harassment program, designing an internal investigations curriculum for an in-house legal team, or sitting down with a difficult employee, Susan's training translates legal requirements into practical habits that reduce risk and improve workplace culture.
• A Problem-Solver for Any Situation: Susan's clients do not just call her once; they rely on her for every curveball. When an employee situation defies easy categorization, she finds simple, creative solutions where others might see only complexity.

Education

• Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (J.D.)
• Cornell University (B.S.)
  • School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Professional & Community Involvement

• 50/50 Women on Boards: Global Conversation on Board Diversity, New York Co-Chair (2019 to Present)
• National Association of Women Lawyers
• New York City Bar Association, former Labor and Employment Law Committee Member
• New York State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section