Theresa Smith Lloyd

Theresa Smith Lloyd joined Plunkett Cooney in 1981 and has been a partner since 1986. She currently serves as Plunkett Cooney’s Labor and Employment Law Practice Group Leader

Ms. Lloyd represents employers in all types of employment matters. Her practice includes defending charges brought against employers by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL) and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), as well as others. 

Ms. Lloyd defends clients in cases filed in federal and state court involving all types of discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower’s claims, employment contract issues and other employment claims. She also provides ongoing advice and counsel in the areas of hiring, firing, employee investigations and discipline. 

Her ability to provide skilled counsel in the areas of labor negotiations and employment issues has been built on years of experience in the courtroom, boardroom and across the negotiating table.

Representative Client Work

• Provides employment counsel to a number of national corporations, which includes providing ongoing advice on hiring, discipline and termination, quarterly training of management and supervisory employees, and an annual review and revision of employment policies and practices.
• Successfully defended clients in class action suits involving the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Americans with Disability Act (ADA)
• Tried more than 50 employment cases to verdict 

Professional Affiliations

• Detroit Bar Association (Labor Law and Civil Rights Law Committees)
• Oakland County Bar Association (Employment Law Section)
• Wayne County Circuit Court Mediator
• Women Lawyers Association of Michigan
• State Bar of Michigan (Labor Relations Law Section)
• Michigan Trial Lawyers Association
• The Florida Bar
• American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section)
• American Law Firm Association (Employment Law Committee)
• American Trial Lawyers Association
• American Employment Law Council
• American Arbitration Association, Neutral Arbitrator, Commercial and Employment Matters
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• National Center for Dispute Settlement

Certifications

• Chairing an Arbitration – Panel Managing Procedures, Process & Dynamics; American Arbitration Association; December 28, 2006

Community Involvement

• Chairman— Michigan Arthritis Foundation Board of Trustees

Publications and Lectures

• National Lecturer on Wrongful Discharge, Employment Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Employer Torts for numerous organizations, including the American Law Firm Association, Labor Relations Information System and the Michigan Municipal League
• “Defending Employment Practices Cases,” American Law Firm Association, Chicago, IL, May 2007
• “A Decent Proposal? Taking an Employment Law Claim to Verdict,” American Law Firm Association, Tucson, AZ, March 2006
• “Compendium of Significant Employment-Related Case Law and Statutes,” American Law Firm Association, 2006
• “Preventing, Minimizing and Remedying Employment Claims,” Michigan Association of CPAs, Novi, MI, January 2005
• “Under Siege: Preventing, Remedying and Defeating the Employment Claims of the Global Workforce,” American Law Firm Association, New Orleans, LA, November 2004
• “Eliminating Liability For Restaurant and Bar Owners/Operators in Michigan,” Lorman Education Services, July 2000
• “The Trend in Harassment Cases: Hostile Work Environment Based on Age and Handicap is Actionable Under Federal and State Law,” Defense Research Institute Newsletter, December, 1998
• “Michigan Employment Law,” Co-editor, Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., 1992
• “Legal Research and Writing,” Instructor, Detroit College of Law, 1980
• “Uniform Commercial Code Form Book,” Co-editor, 1978

Publications

• Recommendations for Minimizing and/or Avoiding Workplace Violence

Speaking Engagements

• Employment Law Update Seminar

News

• Plunkett Cooney Attorneys Named 2007 Michigan 'Super Lawyers'