Shauna Madison

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SHauna Madison

Shauna Madison (she/her) is a Managing Partner at Medina Orthwein LLP. Shauna is a trauma-informed litigator with extensive experience in both civil and criminal litigation. Shauna is passionate about pursuing meaningful cases on behalf of underrepresented and underserved communities. In her legal practice, Shauna has achieved noteworthy results through pretrial negotiations, mediations, settlement conferences, preliminary hearings, and trials.

Prior to joining Medina Orthwein, Shauna was a criminal defense attorney at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, advocating on behalf of indigent clients. During her time at the public defender’s office, Shauna managed hundreds of felony and misdemeanor cases, through all stages of litigation including client interviews, arraignments, investigations, pre-trial negotiations, preliminary hearings, trials and sentencing hearings. In addition to trial advocacy, Shauna provided expert representation in extradition and interstate compact cases. Shauna also facilitated officewide trainings while assisting in the recruitment and retention of attorneys from marginalized communities.

Previously, Shauna was an Associate Attorney at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP (CPM), in Burlingame where her areas of practice included elder abuse, personal injury, consumer class actions, false claims act, and pro bono immigration. While at CPM, Shauna was most proud of her pro bono representation of unaccompanied minors from Guatemala and El Salvador. These minors were detained by immigration officials at the U.S. – Mexico border, hoping to escape gang violence and join their parents. Shauna assisted them in obtaining U-Visas in partnership with CARECEN, a non-profit which provides legal services to Latino, immigrant, and under-resourced families in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Shauna received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.  While at USF Law, Shauna was invited to attend the 2011 White House Black LGBT Emerging Leaders Conference, where she received advanced policy briefing on upcoming LGBT legislation. She also provided feedback to White House administrators on social and legal issues affecting the LGBTQ community. Shauna was also a member of USF Law’s Public Interest Law Foundation Board, student advocate for USF’s Employment Law Clinic, and Finalist in the National Black Law Students Association’s Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition. While at USF Law, Shauna also received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award (highest grade) for her academic excellence in Constitutional Law.

Shauna has also interned at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Federal Public Defender’s Office – Central District, and was a judicial extern to the Honorable Benjamin Gutman at the United States Merit Systems Protection Board. 

Shauna can be reached at smadison@medinaorthwein.com and (510) 269-7608

Court and Bar Admissions

• California

• U.S. Supreme Court

• U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California

• U.S. District Court, Central District of California

• U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

Board Memberships

• Board of Directors, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)

• Board of Directors, Oakland LGBTQ Community Center

• Prior Board Member, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF)

• Prior Board Member, USF Law’s Public Interest Law Foundation Advisory Board

Honors and Awards

• 2022 Top 40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 Award, The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association

• 2022 Top 40 Under 40 Award, The National Black Lawyers

• 2021 Top 40 Under 40 Award, The National Black Lawyers

• 2015 Consumer Attorneys of California Leadership Academy Graduate

• 2014 Women Lawyers of Alameda County Margaret A. Gannon Stipend, Recipient

• 2014 California Employment Lawyers Association Conference Scholarship, Recipient

• 2011 White House Black LGBT Emerging Leader Conference Delegate

• 2011 Leon A. and Esther F. Blum Foundation Scholarship, Recipient

• 2012 CALI Award for Excellence, Constitutional Law, Highest Grade

• 2012 Phillips Spallas & Angstadt Scholarship, Recipient

• 2013 American Association for Justice, Mike Eidson Scholarship, Recipient

• 2013 Arthur Zief Jr., USF School of Law Scholarship, Recipient

Notable Speaking Engagements

• June 16, 2022 – Panelist, “Pride Month: Leadership from an “L” Perspective,” Enterprise Event presented by Northern California LGBTQ+ Employee Network, Bank of America Network – Merrill Lynch

• April 8, 2022 – Panelist, “Fill Your Cup First” hosted by the California Women Lawyers Annual Conference – Thriving Together, A Blueprint for Growth

• March 31, 2022 – Panelist, “Beyond the Basics: Embedding DEI Best Practices into Your Legal Organization’s DNA” hosted by the 2022 ABA National Conference on Equal Employment Opportunity Law

• October 13, 2021 – Co-Facilitator, “Pay Disparity Litigation Panel” hosted by the 2021 Mass Tort Made Perfect Conference

• October 8, 2021 – Guest Speaker, “Law’s Lag on Recognizing Our Multifaceted Selves,” on the Women’s Advocate Podcast hosted by Sarah Nichols of Nichols Law, P.C.

• July 28, 2021 – Guest Speaker, HeartBeat Radio – The Pulse of The People with Radio Host and Activist Cindi Bright

• June 1, 2021 – Co-Moderator, Interracial Sisterhood Community Launch Panel hosted by Karen Fleshman of Racy Conversations, Inspiring the Anti-Racist Generation

• March 26, 2021 – Panelist, “Diversity in the Midst of Adversity,” hosted by University of San Francisco School of Law Pride Law Association, Moderated by Professor Julie Nice

• September 18, 2020 – Co-Organizer, Moderator and Panelist, Racial Justice Committee Training, “How to Best Represent Your LGBTQ Client” & Oakland Pride Virtual Panel featuring Honey Mahogany

Volunteer Work

• Mentor, Point Foundation: The National LGBT Scholarship Fund 

• Founding Member, Women of Color Defender Networking Group

• Member, American Association for Justice