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Sheila M. Abron

Partner


Columbia

t:803.740.7676

f:803.255.0202

Email

Service Focus

  • Affirmative Action and Federal Contract Compliance
  • Class and Collective Actions
  • Counseling and Advice
  • Employment Discrimination and Harassment
  • Pay Equity and Transparency
  • Reductions in Force (RIFs)
  • Wage and Hour
  • Workplace Investigations

Industry Focus

  • Education
  • Retail
  • Higher Education
  • Hospitality
  • Non-Profit and Tax-Exempt Organizations
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Overview
Credentials
Recognitions
Affiliations
Insights

Overview

Sheila Abron is a Partner in the Columbia office and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Affirmative Action and Federal Contract Compliance Practice Group. She is committed to finding practical, real world solutions to her clients’ employment law needs. Certified as a Specialist in Employment and Labor Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court, Sheila represents companies—large and small—as they navigate employment issues related to hiring, discipline, investigations, employment discrimination, unemployment, and other related issues. Sheila provides guidance to higher education institutions on Title IX Compliance and investigations  She has extensive experience providing compliance advice to federal contractors on affirmative action and OFCCP regulations and audits.  Sheila also has extensive experience working on collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and class actions under wage and hour state laws. Sheila also provides training for supervisors and managers on harassment, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) compliance, the Family Medical Leave Act, diversity and inclusion, and many other areas.

Sheila is involved in various professional and community activities. She is a past president of both the South Carolina Women Lawyers’ Association (SCWLA) and the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers (SCYLD) Division. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Columbia – Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the board of the National Conference of Women’s’ Bar Associations.  Sheila is active in the Richland County Bar, American Bar Association, and is a member of the Junior League of Columbia.

Prior to attending law school, Sheila was a member of store leadership for a Fortune 500 retail company, providing employee supervision and managing a variety of employee issues related to wage and hour, workers’ compensation, discrimination issues, performance management, and other personnel issues.

Sheila is a 2019 recipient of the Silver Compleat lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association. This award recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and who exemplify the highest standard of professional competence, ethics, and integrity.

She has also been named to the Columbia Regional Business Report’s list of 2018 Women of Influence, Columbia Business Monthly’s 2018 Best and Brightest 35 and Under,  Columbia Business Monthly’s Legal Elite of the Midlands in 2017 and the  American Bar Association’s  On the Rise – Top 40 under 40 in 2018.  She is also a 2018 South Carolina Super Lawyers – Rising Star and a 2019 recipient of the Leadership in the Law award.   She was awarded the Johnathon Jasper Wright Award by The Honorable Matthew J. Perry Chapter of the Black Law Students Association at the University of South Carolina School of Law, is a three-time recipient of the President’s Award a and a four-time recipient of the Start of the Quarter award from the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers’ Division.

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., 2011, University of South Carolina School of Law
  • B.S., 2005, University of South Carolina

Bar Admissions

  • South Carolina

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Recognitions

  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (2021 - 2025)
  • 2019 Silver Compleat Lawyer
  • 2019 Leadership in the Law
  • 2019 South Carolina Super Lawyers List - “Rising Star”
  • Awarded the President’s Award for her work on the Cinderella Project within the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers’ Division.
  • 2018 Best and Brightest 35 and Under
  • Named to the list of 2018 Women of Influence by the Columbia Regional Business Report
  • On the Rise - Top 40 Young Lawyers Award from the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division
  • 2018 South Carolina Super Lawyers List - “Rising Star”
  • Named to Columbia Business Monthly's Legal Elite of the Midlands in 2017
  • Leadership Columbia Class of 2017, Columbia Chamber
  • Named to Columbia Business Monthly's Legal Elite of the Midlands in 2017
  • Awarded the Johnathon Jasper Wright Award by The Honorable Matthew J. Perry Chapter of the Black Law Students Association at the University of South Carolina School of Law
  • Awarded the Star of the Quarter for the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers’ Division

Affiliations

Professional Activities

  • South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division, President, 2019-2020
  • South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, President, 2018-2019; Member, Board of Directors, 2012-2019
  • American Bar Association (ABA) – Member
  • Columbia – Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – Member, Board of Directors
  • Richland County Bar – Member
  • South Carolina Bar – Publications Committee Member
  • South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division – Cinderella Project, State Chair
  • South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division – iCivics Committee Member
  • South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division – Voices Against Violence Committee Member
  • South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division – Habitat for Humanity Wills Clinic Committee Member
  • South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division – High School Mock Trial Volunteer Judge
  • South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association – Member, Board of Directors, 2014-2016

Community Activities

Sheila is active in the community through her membership with the Junior League of Columbia. She is also a member of 2016 Class of the South Carolina Bar’s Leadership Academy and a 2017 graduate of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Columbia.

Insights

  • Event

    04/30/25

    HR Trend Talks: The Latest EEOC Guidance on Unlawful Workplace DEI Programs

    Brett P. Owens, Raymond W. Perez, Sheila M. Abron

    Read more 

  • Insights

    04/25/25

    Trump Issues 7 New Executive Orders Impacting Higher Ed and K-12 Schools, Ranging From DEI to Discipline to AI

    Sheila M. Abron, Jennifer B. Carroll, Kristin L. Smith

    Read more 

  • Insights

    04/24/25

    New Executive Order Takes On Disparate Impact Discrimination: 7 Major Takeaways for Employers

    Sheila M. Abron, Jessica D. Causgrove, Samantha J. Monsees

    Read more 

  • Insights

    04/23/25

    EEOC Preparing to Open EEO-1 Reporting on May 20 – With No Option for Non-Binary Workers: What Employers Can Do to Prepare

    Sheila M. Abron, Jennifer B. Sandberg

    Read more 

  • Insights

    04/15/25

    Federal Officials Launch Title IX Special Investigations Team – The 5 Things Higher Education Institutions Need to Do

    Sheila M. Abron, Sean McKaveney, Stephanie Reynolds, Julia A. Sherwood

    Read more 

  • Insights

    03/27/25

    Trump’s OFCCP Pick Vows to Combat Illegal DEI By Reviewing Prior Affirmative Action Plans: Here’s What Federal Contractors Need to Know

    Sheila M. Abron, Jennifer B. Sandberg, Regina A. Petty

    Read more 

  • News

    03/22/25

    Republished Insight: EEOC Issues Guidance on Unlawful Workplace DEI Programs: Top Takeaways for Employers

    Regina A. Petty, Sheila M. Abron

    Read more 

  • Insights

    03/21/25

    EEOC Issues Guidance on Unlawful Workplace DEI Programs: Top Takeaways for Employers

    Regina A. Petty, Sheila M. Abron

    Read more 

  • Event

    03/21/25

    Federal Insider

    Benjamin M. Ebbink, Rick Grimaldi, Braden Lawes, Sheila M. Abron, Robin Repass

    Read more 

  • Insights

    03/20/25

    Trump Scraps $17.75 Federal Contractor Minimum Wage: What Employers Need to Know

    Sheila M. Abron, Patrick M. Dalin

    Read more 

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