After completing her clerkship, Shelley began her practice with a large law firm in New York City, representing private companies in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and private equity financing transactions. Shelley's New York practice also included representing sovereign nations in offerings of debt securities. In 2002, Shelley was transferred to the New York firm's London office where her practice focused on high-yield debt offerings and other financing transactions.

Shelley returned to Arizona in 2004, and her practice now focuses primarily on representing clients in a variety of business transactions and corporate governance matters, including representation of both public and private companies in securities offerings and securities law compliance matters, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity financings and other significant business transactions such as technology licensing and distribution relationships, and executive employment and compensation arrangements. Shelley also represents nonprofit organizations in a variety of matters including qualification for tax exemption and corporate governance issues.

Shelley's representative clients have included: iCrossing, Inc., The Inventure Group, Inc., ILX Resorts Incorporated, MedAire, Inc., Nero Inc., Grand Canyon Chapter-American Red Cross and Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS.