Shannon M. Sprinkle
Shannon Sprinkle is a Member in the Atlanta office and has more than twenty years of diverse litigation experience in both state and federal courts. Shannon is frequently retained before litigation to help evaluate and control exposure to potential claims.
Shannon's core practice focuses on professional malpractice, real estate, and finance related claims. She regularly defends lawyers, accountants, agents, brokers, and other professionals in malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud claims. Shannon’s extensive professional malpractice background allows her to provide clients with valuable risk management advice and consultation to prevent claims, mitigate exposure and risk, and to respond to licensing, review boards, or other professional governing body inquiries.
Shannon also serves as an outside general counsel for numerous professional service firms, advising on employment issues, employment contracts, and data and privacy breach claims, amongst many other issues. Shannon frequently litigates in these same fields as well, securing many summary judgment, dispositive motion, or trial wins for professional service firms, lenders, and other companies defending employment cases, putative class action claims over alleged violations of consumer protection statutes, and more.
Shannon has also litigated a range of product liability claims, covering everything from recreational sporting equipment to truck and gas pump manufactured parts. She’s experienced in handling emergency response site investigations, evidence preservation and spoliation issues, and the myriad of expert issues that arise in product liability matters.
9 legal malpractice trends in 2024
by Danielle Braff, ABA Journal, May 22, 2024
Despite Tech Vendor's ‘Admitted Negligence,’ Ex-FisherBroyles Client May Struggle to Recover Damages
by Justin Henry, Reporter, Law.com, April 24, 2024
Litigation Trends
Data Security and Privacy Symposium, Atlanta Bar Association CLE, April 17, 2024
Nip and Tuck: Timely, Imaginative, and Successful Strategies to Pare a Legal Malpractice
co-speaker, Spring 2024 National Legal Malpractice Conference, American Bar Association, New Orleans, La., April 3-5, 2024
Trends in Non-Malpractice Claims Against Lawyers and Law Firms
co-speaker, 23rd Annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management (LMRM) Conference, Chicago, Ill., March 5–7, 2024
'Or They Could Have Fired Deloitte': Embattled CFO Appeals Case, Arguing Auditor Pressed Company Into Firing Him
by Alex Anteau, Daily Report, January 25, 2024
Statute of Limitations: Lawyers Go Toe-To-Toe
8th Annual Accounting Risk Management Seminar, Atlanta, November 7, 2023
Cheating Clients/Lying Lawyers: A General Counsel's Dilemma
panelist, 22nd Annual LMRM Conference, Chicago, March 7–9, 2023
Incident Preparedness: Developing a Program to Respond to Security Incidents
Moderator, Data Security and Privacy Symposium, Atlanta, February 8, 2023
7th Annual Accounting Risk Management Seminar
presented by Stites & Harbison's Accounting Defense Team, Atlanta, GA, October 26, 2022
Diversity Matters - Driving Success in High-Level Decision Making Amongst Lawyers and Clients
Driving Diversity in Law & Leadership Summit, Atlanta, September 14, 2022
Navigating the Intersection of Cyber and Professional Liability
SHRM-Atlanta Legal Summit, May 12, 2022
Louisville law firm announces big growth in Atlanta
by Jason Thomas, Louisville Business First, January 27, 2022
Stites & Harbison Continues Expansion in Atlanta: Lands Commercial Litigation Team of 12 from Copeland, Stair, Kingma & Lovell LLP
FranklinIs, January 25, 2022
19 Attorneys Move to Stites & Harbison, Rapidly Growing Atlanta Team
by Jacob Polacheck, Daily Report, January 25, 2022
Hot Topics in Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
Atlanta Bar Association's By The Hour Series, May 1, 2021
Ethical Considerations for Business Lawyers
38th Annual Business Law Institute, Atlanta, October 31, 2019
Won a motion to dismiss for a client in a Federal Syndicated Conservation Easement class action filed against 30 different defendants including lawyers, accountants, appraisers, promoters, and engineers. Claims included RICO, malpractice, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. Our client was one of only six defendants who were dismissed by the 251 page order.
Shannon Sprinkle and Matt Gass secured a defense verdict after a two week plus trial for their national law firm client accused of wrongful foreclosure activities and GA RICO claims arising out of an alleged erroneous loan payoff.
Shannon Sprinkle, Joe Kingma, Jeff Hoffmeyer, and Evan Elam secured summary judgment for the U.S. partner of a global accounting firm accused of defamation and tortious interference with contract arising out of an audit engagement.
Shannon Sprinkle and Dan Millman secured summary judgment for their law firm client accused of malpractice arising out of disputes over a confirmed bankruptcy plan.
Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma successfully negotiated a favorable resolution of arbitration claims arising out of alleged failures in a Managed Services Agreement after the claimant suffered a cyber-breach resulting in the misdirected payment of several hundred thousands of dollars in vendor payments.
Shannon Sprinkle negotiated the successful resolution of legal malpractice claims asserted against a national law firm arising out of the previous settlement of hundreds of FLSA claims totaling several million dollars. The settlement reached for our client was less than the anticipated costs of defense of the claim.
Shannon Sprinkle and Dan Millman defeated ADA claims against a recruiting firm and a staffing company in Akins, v. Cella, Inc., 2022 WL 688847 (N.D. Ga. July 18, 2022) and Levins v. Connect Staffing, Inc., 2022 WL 2187109 (N.D. Ga. May 31, 2022). In both cases, the court agreed that the employers’ termination decisions were lawful and justified based on the employees’ actions.
Office of General Counsel, Member; Former Ethics Subcommittee Member
Recruiting Committee, Atlanta Office, Chair
cum laude
Tulane Law School
University of Florida
Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Shannon was the Managing Partner of Copeland, Stair, Kingma & Lovell LLP, a Southeastern civil litigation law firm.
Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation (2023-25)
Georgia Super Lawyers, Rising Stars (2006-07, 2009-17)
The Daily Report, 25 Lawyers On the Rise (2016)
Stites & Harbison, PLLC Lawyers Named to 2025 Best Lawyers® Publications
Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that 97 of its lawyers are included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence according to the publication. Additionally, 12 Stites & Harbison attorneys are named as “Lawyer of the Year” and 30 attorneys are recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, which recognizes attorneys early in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.
Data Security and Privacy Symposium
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
State Bar of Georgia Conference Center, 104 Marietta Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Attorneys Shannon Sprinkle and Matt Gass will be moderating and participating on a panel focused on Litigation Trends in Privacy and Data Protection on April 17, 2024 presented by the Atlanta Bar Association.
8th Annual Accounting Risk Management Seminar
Time: 11:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
City Springs Conference Center, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs, GA 30328
Join Stites & Harbison Accounting Defense team for the 8th Annual Accounting Risk Management Seminar in Atlanta on November 8, 2023.
Ensuring Enforcement of Electronically Executed Arbitration Agreements
Shannon Sprinkle and Evan Elam take a look at the enforceability of electronically executed arbitration agreements in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Stites & Harbison, PLLC Lawyers Named to 2024 Best Lawyers® Publications
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that 101 of its lawyers are included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
Georgia Court of Appeals Holds that Non-Solicitation-of-Employees Restrictive Covenants Must Have Express Geographic Limitations
For the second time in five years a split panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals decided that a post-employment restrictive covenant without any geographic limitations is unenforceable except in limited circumstances. The bottom line for employers is that while post-employment restrictions on efforts to solicit a former employer’s customers or restrictions on using trade secrets do not require geographic limitations, all other post-employment restrictions do. Employers should err on the side of caution if they want their agreements to be enforceable or capable of being blue-penciled under Georgia law.
Data Security and Privacy Symposium
Time: 8:15 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
State Bar of Georgia Conference Center, 104 Marietta Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Shannon Sprinkle and Sarah Spurlock will be speakers at this Atlanta Bar Association seminar being held February 8th.
7th Annual Accounting Risk Management Seminar
Time: 11:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
City Springs Conference Center, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs, GA 30328
Stites & Harbison's Accounting Defense Team will present this Accounting Risk seminar on October 26th at the City Springs Conference Center in Atlanta.