Jennifer Stocker

Jennifer Stocker: Experienced Labor and Employment Lawyer in Grand Rapids, Michigan

As a dedicated legal counselor with extensive experience advising on the complex issues employers face daily, Jenny serves as a skilled problem-solver and defender of employers across the country. Through negotiation, mediation, court dismissals, and representation before juries, Jenny brings to bear a pragmatic approach to risk management.

Practice Areas

• Labor and Employment
• Employment Law - Individuals
• Employment Law - Management
• Litigation - Labor and Employment

Jenny’s labor and employment practice is national in scope, and Fortune 500 multinational clients and other public and private companies seek her representation. She defends companies in a wide variety of complex employment litigation filed by employees in state, federal, and appellate courts, and charges filed before state and federal administrative agencies.

Key Experience

• The defense of FMLA, ADA, ADEA, and Title VII claims for discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
• The defense of wage and hour (FLSA) claims, including class actions.

Jenny provides pre-litigation counseling, risk management, avoidance advice, alternative dispute resolution, trial, and appellate counsel. She has extensive experience as an investigator of employment claims, including C-suite investigations of discrimination and harassment. She has broad experience navigating employers through the reduction in force process, including global and complex undertakings.

Jenny provides advice and counsel covering virtually all aspects of human resource management, including training, employment practice audits, and proactive strategies to assure legal compliance and address risk management. She advises clients in the global food production, retail, and professional service industries and has served as an on-site legal and affirmative action consultant.

Awards & Recognitions

• Recognized: Lawyer of the Year: Employment Law - Individuals (Grand Rapids), 2023
• Recognized: Employment Law - Management, The Best Lawyers in America, 2014-2019
• The Best Lawyers in America (Practice Area: Litigation - Labor and Employment), 2014-2019

Affiliations & Education

• Firms: Barnes & Thornburg LLP
• Bar Admissions: State Bar of Michigan
• Universities: Valparaiso University (J.D., 2014)

Languages

Jenny is fluent in English and speaks Spanish.

Diligently prepared and practical, Jenny is ready to help with any situation her clients face. By balancing the cost of legal services with a candid discussion of realistic outcomes, clients and colleagues alike appreciate that Jenny addresses their problems in a responsive and clear manner while providing an honest assessment and practical solutions.