Plunkett Cooney partner and Litigation Department Leader Courtney L. Nichols was recently named by Michigan Lawyers Weekly (MiLW) to its 2025 Class of “Influential Women of Law.”
Nichols is among 37 attorneys who will be honored at a luncheon on Sept. 26 at The Mint at Michigan First Conference Center in Lathrup Village, Michigan, where one member of the 2025 class will also be named “Woman of the Year.” MiLW also recognized this year’s honorees in a special section of the Sept. 22 issue of the newspaper.
The editorial staff of MiLW, a leading publication serving the state’s legal industry, selected this year’s honorees based on their excellent work in the legal system on behalf of their clients, commitment to their communities and service to the profession.
Since joining the firm in 2011, Nichols has built a successful employment law practice. She serves as outside employment law counsel to numerous Michigan companies, and she defends employers in workplace-related litigation through their insurance providers.
Throughout her career with the firm, Nichols has held several management positions. In addition to serving as the firm’s Litigation Department leader, she has also previously served as the firm’s Labor & Employment Law Practice Group leader. She is a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Strategic Planning, Retirement and Salary & Bonus committees, and she serves as employment counsel to the firm.
Nichols is a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office where she focuses her litigation practice in the area of employment law, including discrimination, retaliation and civil rights claims. She provides counsel to employers of all sizes regarding complicated employment and labor issues prior to litigation, including compliance with the ADA, FMLA and FLSA. Nichols also assists clients with drafting and enforcing employment policies and contractual agreements.
In addition to the MiLW honor, Nichols was recently selected as a Best Lawyer in America® for Employment Law – Management and Labor and Employment Litigation and as a Michigan Super Lawyer Rising Star in Employment & Labor by Michigan Super Lawyers magazine from 2016 to 2021. In 2024, DBusiness Magazine named Nichols among its 30 in Their Thirties business leaders, and in 2023 Crain’s Detroit Business named her a Notable Leader in Employment & Labor Law. Nichols was also honored by MiLW as a 2015 Up & Coming Lawyer and a 2021 Go To Employment Lawyer.
Admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in Michigan, Nichols is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, and she serves as Vice Chair of ALFA International’s Labor & Employment Law Practice Group. She received her law degree, cum laude, from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2011 and her undergraduate degree from the James Madison College at Michigan State University in 2008.