Shirin Aboujawde

Shirin Aboujawde is a member of Ogletree’s Cross Border Practice Group and has extensive experience in international employment law.

Shirin is known for her expansive depth and breadth of knowledge, which has enabled her to serve as a multi-jurisdictional attorney for clients who need assistance setting up in a new country, conducting complex cross-country investigations, implementing global policy launches and reductions in force, and executing intricate multi-country M&A activities.

Prior to joining Ogletree, Shirin spent time as Global Employment Counsel with a leading U.S. government contractor, where she was charged with leading the development of their international employment law infrastructure across EMEA, APAC, LATAM, and North America.  Before that, Shirin spent 13 years in-house serving as the Director of Global Employee Relations for a major luxury retailer, where she headed up their international employee relations team in their London office, overseeing contentious and non-contentious employment law matters across the EMEA, LATAM, APAC, and North American regions.

Shirin’s diverse background allows her to serve as an incredible resource to clients who need employment law experience, not just for the more common international jurisdictions but for the most unique countries where advice is hard to find, ranging from Armenia, Bahrain, the Republic of Congo, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and many others. The constant theme from our clients is: “There is no country [Shirin] doesn’t cover!”

Shirin also leverages her in-house US government contractor experience to provide niche skills to clients grappling with Status of Forces Agreements (SOFA) and bilateral treaties between the US and other governments that provide an exemption from the applicability of local employment laws.

Shirin’s extensive in-house experience gives her a unique ability to provide pragmatic solutions with an insight into the real-life application and the logistical pitfalls of implementing legal advice encountered by in-house lawyers and global HR teams. Shirin’s clients come to her for her responsiveness and practical approach to complex and technical international employment law issues from all parts of the world. She has been touted by one of our clients as “the most impactful external counsel in history.”