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Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP: The Houston Attorney Who Helps Write the Board Certification Exam He Passed

Todd Slobin sits on the Labor & Employment Law Exam Commission — the body that designs and grades the very Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification exam he holds — a level of institutional involvement in his own credentialing body that few Houston employment attorneys can claim.

At a Glance

Origin and Background

Todd Slobin was licensed to practice law in 1997 and has handled employment law cases exclusively since 1998. He became a named partner at what was then Shellist Lazarz in May 2010, forming Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP. He holds Board Certification in Labor and Employment Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and serves as a member of the Labor & Employment Law Exam Commission, the committee that designs and grades the very certification exam that credentials attorneys in his field. He is also a former Chairman of the Houston Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section.

Practice Concentration

The firm focuses specifically on representing executive-level employees — CEOs, CMOs, presidents, vice presidents, and other C-suite professionals — in negotiating executive agreements, severance packages, and employment contracts, alongside sexual harassment and discrimination claims. See this Houston Employment & Labor directory for how this executive-focused niche compares to firms handling a broader range of employee matters. The firm also represents non-executive employees in class action matters.

Track Record

Slobin’s independently notable results include the top employment-law verdict in Texas for 2011, a $3.2 million jury verdict shared by three clients, along with multiple executive settlements exceeding $1 million each, according to the firm’s own published case summaries. He also received the Appellate Lawyer of the Week award in January 2019.

Client Voice

Slobin holds a 10.0 “Superb” rating on Avvo across 91 reviews, with attributed testimonials describing his courtroom presence specifically — one client recounted that “the moment voir dire began, you could tell all potential jurors liked him.” Awesome Attorneys did not identify a pattern of negative or unresolved reviews warranting disclosure for this firm.

Beyond the Courtroom

Slobin produced the film “Pocket Full of Soul: The Harmonica Documentary,” an unusual creative credit for a practicing litigator, and has served as former Chairman of the Houston Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section.

Recognition for This Houston Employment & Labor Attorney

Slobin holds Board Certification in Labor and Employment Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, the credential this publication requires before using “specialist” language — and his role on the Labor & Employment Law Exam Commission means he is directly involved in setting the standard other attorneys are tested against. He has been selected to Super Lawyers continuously from 2005 through the present.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Texas follows the doctrine of at-will employment, meaning an employer can generally terminate a worker for any reason or no reason absent a legally protected exception such as discrimination or retaliation. Executive severance and employment agreements, this firm’s named specialty, are governed primarily by contract law rather than statutory employment protections, meaning the specific negotiated terms of the agreement often matter more than general employment statutes. None of this is legal advice; a specific employment matter should be evaluated by a licensed attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Shellist Lazarz Slobin’s clearest, most checkable differentiator is Todd Slobin’s institutional role on the Labor & Employment Law Exam Commission itself, paired with a documented $3.2 million top Texas employment verdict and a specific focus on executive-level negotiations. The honest trade-off: this is a specialized executive-focused practice, so a non-executive employee with a more routine wage or discrimination claim may find the firm’s typical case profile skewed toward higher-value matters. For a departing executive negotiating severance or facing a dispute over an employment contract, this is a genuine, checkable differentiator.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP’s official website (eeoc.net), the State Bar of Texas’s public attorney lookup confirming license, office address, and board certification, and independent client reviews on Avvo.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.