Labor and Employment Litigation

• Currently lead counsel in several various FLSA class action matters
• Obtained summary judgment in multi-million dollar gender discrimination claim on behalf of national brokerage firm, with successful defense of appeal in Fifth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court
• Investigation of alleged violation of Sarbanes-Oxley
• Investigation of alleged sexual harassment by partner in law firm
• Numerous internal investigations involving alleged sexual harassment, racial harassment and other allegations of mistreatment
• Obtained a take-nothing verdict on behalf of a transit company on a race discrimination claim tried before a jury
• Successfully defended several law firms in discrimination claims
• Obtained an injunction for a packaging company against a former employee for taking company property and potential workplace violence
• Handled numerous internal investigations involving alleged wrongful conduct by employees and former employees, including Sarbanes Oxley issues, accounting issues, and workplace misconduct issues

Commercial Litigation

• Successful defense and resolution of an injunction action involving purchase of a regional hospital, and claims involving breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence, corporate governance, and ownership
• Investigation involving alleged financial malfeasance and appropriateness of tax treatment within a publicly traded company
• Successful defense and resolution of a shareholder's derivative action involving claims of wrongdoing by the CEO and CFO and involving an interpretation of Texas and Delaware law
• Successful defense and obtained dismissal of nationwide class action claim against arbitration association involving manner and method of selection of arbitrators
• Investigation involving alleged officer malfeasance and unfair treatment within publicly traded companies
• Successful defense and resolution of claims by a member of a medical partnership against the other partners, involving partnership claims and disability claims
• Defense in court and managed to successful resolution of a claim involving contempt of court and failure to deliver a source code
• Defense of a closely held software company in claims for injunctive relief and alleged self-dealing involving ownership of stock and intellectual property
• Prosecution and defense of numerous injunction matters involving claims of theft, trade secrets and intellectual property, inevitable disclosure, covenants not to compete, breach of duty of loyalty, and related matters
• Defense of a software piracy claim
• Jury trial involving ownership of oil and gas interests and interpretation of a "pugh" clause
• Obtained a take-nothing jury verdict on behalf of a manufacturer of a planer on a claim by a school boy for substantial bodily injuries and successful defense of the appeal in the Fifth Circuit

Arbitrations

• Multiple representations of clients in commercial and employment discrimination arbitrations
• Successful defense of company interests in wide range of arbitrations under collective bargaining agreements
• Service as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and as a private arbitrator in a wide range of commercial and employment disputes

Professional/Civic

• State Bar of Texas 
• Director, 2002-2005
• Chair, Labor and Employment Law Section, 1998-99
• Dallas Bar Association
• President, 2001
• Vice President and Chair
• Chair, Labor and Employment Law Section, 1994
• Texas Young Lawyers Association, Chair, Vice President and Secretary, 1986-90
• Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, President, 1986
• Texas Bar Foundation, Chair, 2008-2009
• Dallas Bar Foundation, Vice-Chair
• Employment Law Counselor, Editorial Board of Advisors
• Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
• The College of the State Bar of Texas
• The Center for American and International Law Research Fellows
• Fellow of the American Bar Association
• Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation
• Dallas Breakfast Group, Chairman
• Habitat for Humanity, Executive Committee
• Target Kids in Court Steering Committee
• Texas General Counsel Forum Board of Directors, 2001-2005
• Leadership Dallas, 1994
• East Dallas Chamber of Commerce
• Professional Bank, Board of Directors

Honors and Awards

• American College of Labor Lawyers
• "Best Lawyers Annual Guide to Labor & Employment Law," Corporate Counsel, 2008
• Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine, 2001-present
• Texas Super Lawyer, Law & Politics Magazine and Texas Monthly, 2003-2008
• Top 100 Lawyers in Texas
• Top 100 Lawyers in Dallas
• Best Lawyers in America, 1997-2009
• The World's Leading Business Lawyers, Chambers and Partners, London
• Who's Who Legal, Law Business Research Limited, London
• DAYL Foundation Award of Excellence, November 2006
• Judge Sam Williams Local Bar Leadership Award 2005-2006
• "Go-To" Lawyers: Labor and Employment, Texas Lawyer, 2003
• Member, American Board of Trial Advocates, 2002-Present
• President's Citation of Merit, State Bar of Texas, 2003
• Dallas Volunteer Project Pro Bono Service Award, 2001
• Most Outstanding Member, East Dallas Chamber of Commerce, 1998

• Dallas Attorney Mark Shank Named Among Nation's Top 100 Employment Lawyers (8/24/2010)
• Three Dallas Litigators Named Among “The Best Lawyers in America” (8/13/2010)
• Mark A. Shank, Partner with Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail, to Serve on Civil Trial Law Exam Commission (3/26/2010)
• Dallas Attorney Mark Shank Elected Chair-Elect of the Board for the Dallas Bar Foundation (3/26/2010)
• Firm Attorneys Build Homes in Thailand as Habitat for Humanity Volunteers (12/11/2009)
• Five Gruber Hurst Attorneys Honored in Texas Super Lawyers List (9/17/2009)
• Gruber, Hurst and Shank named to D Magazine's Best Business Lawyers in Dallas 2009 (7/1/2009)
• Changes in Labor and Employment Law and Regulations by Mark A. Shank (5/29/2009)
• Mark Shank and John Turner published in Texas Bar Journal (5/14/2009)
• Three Partners Named Best Personal Lawyers in Dallas 2009 by D Magazine (5/11/2009)
• Prominent Dallas Attorney Mark A. Shank joins Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail (3/2/2009)

• "Wage and Hour Update: "Hot Wage and Hour Issues: When Did Your Employees Start Working Today?" webinar with Patrick Madden, 9-24-08
• "Cross Examination in Employment Cases" speech for ABA Section of Labor & Employment Law 2nd Annual CLE Conference (Denver), 9-10-08
• "Show me the Money:  Damages in Employment Cases" speech for University of Houston Law Center's Advanced Employment Law (Houston), 4-17-08
• "An Employer's Guide to Avoiding Criminal Liability:  Examining the Confluence of Criminal and Employment Law" speech for SBOT 16th Annual Advanced Employment Law Course (Houston), 1-31-08
• SBOT Labor and Employment Law Section's Annual Fall Update/Skills Seminar (Galveston), 10-12-07
• "2007 Update on Employment Law" speech for DBA Labor & Employment Section (Dallas), 9-17-07
• Contributing Author, O'Connor's Texas Causes of Action 2005-Present
• "Internal Affairs: Ethical Issues for In-House Counsel in Workplace Investigations," Corporate Counsel Section, Dallas Bar Association, 10-5-04
• "Issues in Director Retention and Recruitment," American Society of Corporate Secretaries, 8-11-04
• "Damages in Employment Law Cases," State Bar of Texas Advanced Employment Law Seminar, 2004
• "Implementation of Effective Whistle-Blowing Procedures Consistent with Sarbanes-Oxley," State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, 2003
• "Evolving Role of Corporate Counsel in Post-Enron Environment," Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism, 2003
• An Employer's Best Defense: Plan Ahead, Executive Lawyer, by Mark A. Shank, 12-24-01

• WHAT IS WORK? FLSA Pitfalls at the beginning and end of the workday (3/26/2010)