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Glenn L. Smith, Attorney at Law - Postal  & Federal Employees

http://www.uspostallawyer.com/

Wheeler Upham, P.C. was founded in 1883 and has a reputation for quality legal services in a small firm environment.  Wheeler Upham’s attorneys are experienced in business problems and litigation of all kinds including real estate transactions-complex and simple, insurance, employment law, business formation and disputes, tax and pension issues, bankruptcy, estate planning, trust and probate matters, elder law, postal law, church law and federal government contracts. Visit www.wheelerupham.com for more information.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Education:

J.D.,  University of Michigan, 1989

B.A., University of Michigan, 1985

Work History:

Prior to joining Wheeler Upham, Mr. Smith served as in-house counsel with the United States Postal Service in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia.  Mr. Smith’s career with the U.S. Postal Service began in 1989.  He was initially assigned to the General Administrative Law Division at Postal Headquarters.  His responsibilities included processing both Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act appeals, handling ethics matters and the drafting of Private Express Statute opinion letters.  Mr. Smith also handled district and appellate court litigation arising out of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act requests.   The knowledge of the Postal Service, its statutory framework, regulations, management structure and record storage\retention policies that Mr. Smith developed in this assignment served him well throughout his postal career. 

In 1991, Mr. Smith transferred to Atlanta to serve as field counsel.  Over the next eleven years, Mr. Smith supported local postal management in a wide variety of areas including labor and employment issues, tort defense, customer service issues, collection of revenue deficiencies, information requests, ethics questions, mail disputes, postal customer council issues, media relations, environmental matters, mode of delivery issues, bankruptcy matters, local and state governmental relations and purchasing issues. Mr. Smith was frequently called upon to provide training to local management on such issues as the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”), the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and the Debt Collection Act.

As field counsel, Mr. Smith litigated in cases in many forums including the Merit System Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, the Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals, U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals.  While on detail as Manager, Administrative Services for the Atlanta Customer Service District, Mr. Smith was issued a Contracting Officer’s warrant.  Throughout his postal career, Mr. Smith received training on labor law, charge writing, discrimination law, and MSPB\EEOC practice.  He also attended outside courses such as the Federal Training Foundation, Inc., course entitled, “MSPB (EEOC) Advocacy & Litigation Skills:  How to Question, How to Do it” and the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's 125^th Contract Attorney’s Course.   He was the recipient of numerous awards and letters of accommodation from the Postal Service.  Mr. Smith served on the Postal Law Department and Southeast\Southwest Areas’ Revenue Protection Committees, Law Department’s Environmental\Facilities and Diversity Committees. 

Since joining Wheeler Upham, Mr. Smith has handled adverse employment actions before federal agencies and the Merit System Protection Board, as well as discrimination claims before the federal EEOC and state agencies.    His litigation practice also includes tort, insurance, real estate, contract and FMLA cases.  He advises clients in the areas of business law, business formation, environmental law, estate planning, contracts and government contracts.

Areas of Legal Practice and Specialties:

Employment Law, Business Law, Civil Litigation, Torts, Real Estate, Postal Law, Federal Government Contracts, Federal Administrative Law, Environmental Law, and Business Formations.

Litigation Experience:

Adverse Employment Actions (before MSPB and Federal Agencies), Discrimination Claims (Federal and State), Employment and Labor Law, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Claims, Contract Claims, Construction Law (including differing site conditions and change order claims), Lease Disputes, Personal Injury and Property Damage Claims, Federal Employment Compensation Act (FECA) Claims, Condemnation matters, Bankruptcy, Environmental Law, Appeals, Freedom of Information Act, and The Privacy Act of 1974.

Articles:

Mr. Smith is the author of, “A Trap for the Unwary,” (pdf) an article about mail disputes, which was published in The Michigan Bar Journal, 81 Mich B.J. 3 (March 2002).  Mr. Smith also authored, “Bankruptcy Appeals: Preserving Your Right of Review,” which was published in The Michigan Bar Journal, 81 Mich B.J. 9 (September 2002).

Professional and Civic Organizations:

State Bar of Michigan

State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Law Section

Grand Rapids Bar Association

Grand Rapids Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Bar

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan Bar

Grand Rapids Jaycees – 2003-2004 Legal Counsel

Polish Heritage Society of Grand Rapids

Swedish-American Heritage Society of West Michigan

Y Service Club