Lina focuses her practice on labor and employment litigation, including discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour, disability, unemployment insurance benefits, and FMLA matters. She also advises entities and individuals regarding employment matters and regulatory compliance, and has experience in negotiating complex severance and settlement agreements on terms advantageous to our clients. Lina’s practice also includes commercial litigation and employee benefits.
Lina’s significant wins include:
- Obtaining a swift, favorable dismissal of an NLRB administrative investigation
- Victory at the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a Title VII race discrimination and retaliation matter
Education & Credentials
Education
University of Notre Dame
B.A., Music (Vocal Performance), Spanish, 2012- Cum laude
University of Michigan
J.D., 2016- Order of the Coif
- Magna cum laude
- Student Attorney & Peer Supervisor, Unemployment Insurance Clinic (2014-2015)
- Student Attorney, Child Welfare Appellate Clinic (2015)
Bar Admission
Acknowledgements
- Michigan Super Lawyers®
- "Rising Star", Labor & Employment, 2022-2023
- Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
- Labor & Employment, 2024
- Best Lawyers in America®
- "Ones to Watch," Labor and Employment Law - Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2024
Prominent Assignments
- Successfully represented a former Speaker of a state House of Representatives in a lawsuit filed by a private individual against both the former Speaker and the plaintiff's former employer.
- Represented a prominent liberal arts college in a case brought by a former professor involving claims of race and gender discrimination, as well as breach of contract, related to the plaintiff's termination from a tenure-track teaching position.
- Defended a state university, chancellor, and vice-chancellor in two cases brought by a former employee.
- Advised clients on labor and employment issues and risks associated with numerous transactions
- Represented a university hospital system in a race discrimination and retaliation case brought by a former employee.
- Represented a global pizza company in a case where the plaintiff claimed her termination was discriminatory based on gender discrimination.
- Served as counsel to one of the top global manufacturers of leather for automotive seats and components in a case of alleged theft and use of trade secrets.
- Represented a nationwide provider of valet services to hospitals, hotels, and other hospitality venues in a case alleging that the client terminated an employee in violation of COVID-19 leave statutes and regulations.
- Represented a leader in manufacturing and engraving technology in trade secret and proprietary information matters
- Successfully represented a large pizza chain in a case brought by a former highly compensated manager who claimed their termination was discriminatory based on sex and was retaliatory for having complained to HR.
- Defended an automotive supplier after seven former employees sued the company when they lost their jobs as part of a reduction in force, claiming that the reduction discriminatorily impacted older, white employees.
Professional Involvement
- Washtenaw County Bar Association
- Co-Chair, Labor & Employment Section, 2019-2023
Publications/Presentations
- Co-Author, Co-Author, “Employers are Off the Earned Sick Time Clock,” Dickinson Wright Client Alert, Jan 2023
- Author, "Stop the World – I Want to Get Off! Onboarding and Off-boarding in an Increasingly Mobile and Remote Workforce," Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, December 2022
- Author, "#MeToo 5 Years Later – How The States Took Over the Narrative," Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, May 2022
- 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
- Author, “’Long-COVID’ in Employment Law,” Res Ipsa Loquitur, July 2021
- Author, "Michigan Governor Issues Stay-At-Home Order," Dickinson Wright Client Alert, March 2020