Shelly L. Freeman is the President of HROI, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the law firm of Lathrop & Gage LC.  HROI counsels and consults with employers on the full range of human resource issues, conducts independent investigations and provides dispute resolution services for harassment, discrimination and other serious employee complaints, and develops and conducts management and supervisory training on HR-related topics for companies throughout the country.  HROI's video training tapes, "The Workplace Training Series," were named by HR Executive Magazine as one of the Top Training Picks in 2003.

Prior to launching HROI in 2002, Ms. Freeman was the Director of Corporate and Field Human Resources for Payless Cashways, Inc. where she directed and supervised a full range of human resource functions for the manufacturing, distribution and retailing components of a 10,000+ employee workforce.  She received her J.D. from The University of Kansas School of Law in 1988, and practiced as a labor and employment lawyer for 11 years before taking the Human Resource Director position.   She now combines her legal background with a practitioner's experience to assist companies with their HR challenges.  Ms. Freeman is the 2004 President of the Human Resource Management Association of Greater Kansas City (HRMA-KC), an SHRM affiliate and Superior Merit Chapter.    

Ms. Freeman is a frequent speaker and trainer for such organizations as the American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section; The Missouri Bar; the Heartland Labor and Employment Law Institute; the University of Kansas School of Law; the Missouri Chamber of Commerce; the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and many private companies.