Top Employment Lawyers Near Me in Grand Rapids Area

Mr. Northon is a trial attorney that focuses his practice on businesses and the personal and professional needs of their owners. As an advocate, he has tried more than a dozen cases and has broad experience in business and strategic planning, labor relations, and trust litigation issues—including defending pension and healthcare plans, executives and governing boards on compensations issues, and collective-bargaining on behalf of municipalities and energy companies. Mr. Northon's track record includes 7-figure verdicts and settlements on the plainitffs side and zero verdicts while for the defense. His clients include manufacturers, banks, trusts, PACs, medical groups, municipalities, charities, oil and gas producers, institutions of higher education, energy companies, farmers, and select entertainers. He is also in the blockchain space and can provide specific legal advice to select entrepreneurs. St. Thomas More...pray for us.

Mr. Knecht has more than 39 years of experience handling complex employment law problems and employment-related litigation in state and federal courts, administrative tribunals and private dispute resolution proceedings.

Leaning on more than 20 years of knowledge and experience in reading a table, I try to seek out common ground to reach my client’s objectives. The majority of my practice focuses on consulting and representing entities – including several large healthcare providers, manufactures and several well-known mass transit systems – in traditional labor relations and general personnel matters. In doing so, my goal is to help my clients avoid unnecessary employer-employee challenges by identifying issues before problems arise, skillfully negotiating resolutions, or vigorously defending actions to the extent a dispute can’t be avoided.. A recognized thought leader in the field of traditional labor – particularly in areas unique to the healthcare, transit and manufacturing sectors, such as criminal background mandates, licensure requirements, Drug Free Workplace requirements, FTA Drug and Alcohol Program, commercial driver’s licenses, and Section 13(C) requirements – I also regularly counsel and represents a number of municipal entities, including boards, authorities, courts, cities, school districts and townships.. My wide-ranging administrative practice enables me to advise and assist clients nationally on virtually all aspects of labor and employment law, including collective bargaining, grievance arbitrations, unfair labor practice proceedings, wage and hour matters, unemployment, employee handbook and personnel policies, teacher tenure act proceedings, and hearings.. My practice involves providing advice and counsel on matters governed by the National Labor Relations Act, the ADA, FMLA, FLSA and OSHA issues, as well as many other employment-related statutes.. While serving in his capacity as labor and employment counsel, I regularly act as chief spokesperson for the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, including initial and renewal contracts; prepares and presents cases in fact-finding arbitrations; negotiates changes to healthcare plans, including adding employee contributions, modifying plan benefits and selecting third-party administrators; litigates unfair labor practice charges and representation matters before the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); prepares personnel policy manuals and employee handbooks; investigates and prepares position statements and answers to interrogatories on charges of discrimination and harassment; and handles unemployment matters involving employer rates and benefit eligibility.. I have regularly served as the keynote speaker for the Health Care Association of Michigan's annual convention, and frequently present on a variety of labor and employment topics, including providing in-house training for several other professional organizations.

I have been with my wife for over 30 years.  We have 3 daughters.  2 are in graduate school and one in high school.    I come from a family of lawyers and currently have 2 brothers who are also attorneys, one in New York and one in Detroit.. I love practicing law and even after more than 25 years, I have no desire to do anything else.   Being able to practice on the Lakeshore in West Michigan is just an added bonus.   What a great place to live and work.   The people, landscape and way of life just makes every day a gift.. I attended Central Michigan University, transferring to Wayne State University and graduating with a degree in Public Administration.   I went to law school at Cooley Law School in Lansing when it was relatively new and the classes small.   I still keep in touch with a number of my law school classmates, some of whom are right here in West Michigan.. I have extensive experience in civil litigation, ranging from dog bites, car accident and slip and fall cases to medical and legal malpractice and business litigation.   I have represented both Plaintiffs and Defendants and inividuals as well as large companies.  I represent Defendants and insurance carriers in litigation.  When someone hires me, they are going to get that huge array of experience that I have to offer.

I am an experienced commercial litigator and construction lawyer, representing clients large and small in courts throughout Michigan.. My litigation experience includes handling everything from routine collection cases through representing the plaintiff in a shareholder oppression/fraud case that resulted in the largest jury verdict in the history of Kent County, Michigan (roughly $7.9 million) in November 2010.. My construction practice involves all aspects of construction projects, as I have represented owners, architects, general contractors, construction managers, subcontractors and suppliers and sureties on projects throughout Michigan. I offer full services concerning construction projects, from drafting and reviewing contracts through enforcing those agreements and (if necessary) litigating issues relating to liability for damages suffered or contract balances owed by the various parties.. I have also served as a court-appointed arbitrator, and have served as a "neutral" case evaluator in the Kent County Circuit Court for more than a decade, recognizing the fact that my background in handling plaintiffs' and defense work positions me well to evaluate cases without bias or slant toward either side in a lawsuit.