Kathryn S. Wood

• DBusiness Magazine
  • "Top Lawyers," Labor and Employment Law, 2016, 2019-2023
• Benchmark Litigation
  • "Local Labor & Employment Star," 2021-2024
• Michigan Super Lawyers®
  •  Employment Litigation, 2008-2023
• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Employment Law, Labor and Employment Litigation, 2009-2024
• The Legal 500 United States
  • Labor and Employment Disputes - Defense, 2023
  • Dispute Resolution - General Commercial Disputes, 2023
  • "Recommended Lawyer," 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022
• Michigan Lawyers Weekly
  • "Women in the Law," Honoree, 2018

Employment Discrimination/Harassment/Retaliation/Whistleblower Claims

• Extensive trial and arbitration experience.
• Represented clients in single and multi-plaintiff actions alleging violations of federal and state civil rights laws, at both the trial court and appellate level.
• Represented multiple public sector clients in high-profile whistleblower claims that garnered state and national media attention.
• Successful defense of public institution on 14th Amendment and 1981 claims involving rights of privacy (obtained Sixth Circuit opinion, on issue of first impression, affirming summary judgment).
• Successful defense of multiple attempted class actions (each resulting in denial of class certification).
• MDCR and EEOC claim defense, including position statements, mediation and conciliation.
• Extensive experience regarding joint-employer obligations and liabilities.

Employment Counseling and Litigation Prevention on issues including:

• Experience in conducting harassment/discrimination investigations;
• Document/personnel file retention and production issues;
• FMLA;
• Discipline and termination issues;
• ADA/ disability accommodation obligations;
• Email and internet policies and privacy rights;
• Pre-employment and employee drug testing; and
• Enforceability of arbitration clauses in employment agreements.

Commercial Litigation

• Extensive trial and arbitration experience.
• Successfully obtained a no cause of action in a jury trial where damages alleged were one billion dollars.
• Successfully obtained a no cause of action in a trial where plaintiffs were asking for equitable relief that could have altered all Michigan public utilities’ obligations to property owners statewide.
• Successfully obtained a no cause of action in a multi-plaintiff contractual dispute seeking damages in excess of 4 million dollars.

Defamation Claims:

• Represented numerous clients in prosecuting and defending defamation claims.
• Obtained numerous retractions of defamatory statements prior to commencement of litigation, including an internationally disseminated retraction from Reuters.
• Experience in prosecuting "John Doe" actions, where defamatory material is posted anonymously on internet chat room sites.

• Co-Author, "U.S. Supreme Court Splits the Baby as It Stays the Private Employer Vaccine or Test Mandate but Keeps the Healthcare Vaccine Mandate in Place," Dickinson Wright Industry Alert, January 2022
• Co-Author, "Private Employer Vaccine Mandate Moves Forward as Sixth Circuit Dissolves Fifth Circuit's OSHA ETS Stay," Dickinson Wright Industry Alert, December 2021 
• Co-Author, "The Private Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate is Here: What Employers Need to Know," Dickinson Wright Industry Alert, November 2021 
• Co-Author, “Employers: Are You Following Michigan’s New Mandatory Employee Safety Requirements?” Dickinson Wright Client Alert, April 2020 
• Employment Litigation in Michigan, Second Edition (ICLE), Chapter Author, "Discrimination Claims"
• Michigan Business Torts (ICLE), Contributing Chapter Author, "Defamation"
• Employment Litigation in Michigan, First Edition (ICLE), Chapter Author, "Title VII and Related ELCRA Claims"
• Bloomberg/BNA Workplace Harassment Treatise - 2d Ed., Contributing Chapter Author, “Constructive Discharge”
• Whistleblowing, Reporting and Retaliation, Michigan Chamber Services Webinar, 2013\
• Inside the Minds -- Employment Discrimination Lawsuits, Chapter Author, "Effective Employer Strategies in Employment Discrimination Litigation", Aspatore Books, 2008
• Employment Discrimination Law, Fourth Edition (ABA), Contributing Chapter Author, "Unions"
• Labor and Employment Lawnotes, Volume 17.N.2 "The New Wave in Employment Litigation: Family Responsibilities Discrimination".
• Multiple speaking engagements for ICLE and the Michigan Bar Association Labor and Employment Section