Aimee Gibbs serves as trusted general counsel for numerous public entities and private corporations, handling a wide range of legal services, including policy formation, risk-mitigation, regulatory compliance, employment counseling and litigation, and commercial litigation.
Aimee Gibbs’ public entity clients include state and local units of government such as cities, townships, villages, counties, public authorities, universities, school districts, and nonprofit organizations in K-12, higher education, and other sectors. Public entity clients frequently rely on Aimee for her knowledgeable and skillful representation and swift resolution to matters. Clients’ trust and reliance on Aimee’s comprehensive general counsel legal services ranging from counseling to representation in commercial litigation matters is evident by the long-term client relationships Aimee has developed with clients, some spanning and evolving over 15+ years.
Aimee Gibbs also serves in a general counsel capacity to numerous private corporations, providing superior risk mitigation strategies, general employment and corporate counseling and litigation representation, as well as trademark registration, monitoring, and enforcement services. Within the private corporate sphere, Aimee has consistently and successfully served as legal counsel for national and regional banking and financial companies in consumer and retail litigation, UCC, and fraud cases, and has successfully represented registered representatives and broker-dealers in FINRA arbitrations and security investigations.
Clients form long-lasting partnerships with Aimee, and her sound legal representation naturally evolves into Aimee serving clients in the capacity of general counsel based on her superior knowledge base, successful policy and risk mitigation strategies, excellent litigation and settlement results, and prompt, comprehensive, and individualized attention to each client.
Education & Credentials
Education
Wittenberg University
B.A., 1997- summa cum laude
University of Michigan
M.S.W., 1998- Masters in Social Work
- Recipient of Specialist in Aging Certificate
Wayne State University Law School
J.D., 2007- cum laude
- Law Review Associate Editor
- Penn State Dickinson Law School, International Law Program, Florence, Italy
Bar Admission
Acknowledgements
- Michigan Super Lawyers®
- "Rising Star," Employment Litigation, 2015-2017
Representative Clients
- JPMorgan Chase
- SBD Automotive
- City of Saline
- Global Education Excellence
- Bay County Public Schools
- Whitmore Lake Public Schools
- Public School Academies of Detroit
- Genesee Intermediate School District
- Google, Inc.
- Kirtland Community College
- University of Michigan
Prominent Assignments
• Representing small, mid-size, and national employers in connection with federal, state, and agency employment litigation, including discrimination, whistleblower, and harassment claims.
• Representing intermediate school districts, public schools, public school academies, and educational institutions in a range of issues, including regulation of student conduct, organizational liability, Title IX investigations, policy and regulatory issues, special education services, employment matters and litigation, state complaints and Office of Civil Rights matters.
• Representing community colleges and public universities in connection with policy formation and compliance with legal and funding requirements, and Title IX investigations.
• Defending a streaming service in a securities fraud case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Successful resolution of FINRA arbitrations resulting in favorable settlements or “no findings” outcome on behalf of registered representatives and broker-dealers.
• Managing the entire global trademark portfolio for a major automotive accessories company on an ongoing basis.
• Counseling an American Fortune 500 automotive industry company, overseeing their entire global trademark portfolio.
• Representing a Fortune 500 technology company in trademark matters for over 10 years. Counsel provides strategic counseling, as well as prosecution and enforcement services with respect to both its domestic and global trademark matters.
• Counsels clients regarding trademark infringement, unfair competition, and domain name enforcement matters.
• Counsels clients concerning potential infringement and the likelihood of success in infringement actions or opposition proceedings.
• Counsels clients on proper trademark use in order to strengthen enforceable trademark rights.
• Conducts trademark availability searches and provides risk assessment opinions on behalf of a wide range of clients, including a major U.S. and international retailer, a leading global IT and software company, and leading international automotive companies.
• Represented Fortune 500 automotive company as a member of a litigation team in connection with a billion-dollar contract dispute.
Professional Involvement
- American Bar Association
- Eastern District of Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
- Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association
- Washtenaw County Bar Association
- Education Law Association Member
Publications/Presentations
- Author, "What Educational Institutions Should Know About Title IX and the Proposed Title IX Regulations,” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, September 2022
- Author, "EEOC Ramps Up Enforcement Lawsuits," Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, February 2022
- Author of Chapter “School Building Facilities and Physical Plants” in book Key Legal Issues for Schools: The Ultimate Resource for School Business Officials, 2nd Edition (2013). C. Russo (Ed.) Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield Publications.
- Author of Chapter “Should Corporal Punishment in Public Schools Be Abolished?” in book Debating Issues in American Education, School Discipline and Safety, Volume 5 (2012). S. Eckes (Ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Author of Chapter “School Discipline and Safety: Are Zero Tolerance Policies Acceptable With Respect to Drugs, Alcohol, Weapons, Where Student Safety Is Concerned?” (2012) in book Debating Issues in American Education, School Discipline and Safety, Volume 5. S. Eckes (Ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Co-author and presenter of "Challenges to Disparate Discipline: Recent Trends," at the 2011 57th Annual Education Law Association Conference in Chicago.
- Co-author of "Passing the Trash: Exploring School District Liability in State and Federal Courts," presented at the 2010 56th Annual Education Law Association Conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- Contributor of multiple entries summarizing legal decisions in 2-volume, Encyclopedia of Law and Higher Education (2009). C. Russo (Ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Contributor of multiple entries summarizing legal decisions in 2-volume, Encyclopedia of Education Law (2008). C. Russo (Ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.