Plunkett Cooney partner and Litigation Department Leader Courtney L. Nichols was recently elected to the board of directors of ALFA International (ALFAI).
Nichols was elected to a three-year term at the conclusion of the 2025 ALFAI Attorney Business Meeting in Madrid, Spain on Oct. 8. The board consists of 16 member-firm attorneys from the United States and around the world who together ensure proper governance of the organization.
Founded in 1980, ALFAI is the premier network of independent law firms. It was the first and continues to be one of the largest and strongest global legal networks. The organization has 140 member firms with U.S. firms covering 95 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas and 70 international firms located throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Canada and Central and South America.
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 Plunkett Cooney’s Labor & Employment Law Practice Group leader. She is a member of the firm’s Strategic Planning, Retirement and Salary & Bonus committees, and she serves as general counsel for employment law issues on behalf of 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.
Nichols was recently selected as a Best Lawyer in America® for Employment Law – Management and Labor and Employment Litigation and as Rising Star by Michigan Super Lawyer magazine for Employment & Labor 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 recently honored by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a 2025 Influential Woman of Law and as a 2021 Go To Employment Lawyer and 2015 Up & Coming 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 ALFAI’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.
Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney is a leading provider of business law and litigation services to clients in the private and public sectors. The firm employs attorneys in seven Michigan cities, Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Plunkett Cooney has received the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading peer review service, as well as recognition by Best Lawyers as one of the nation’s leading law firms. The firm has also received Mansfield Rule Certification Plus 2024-2025 for midsize law firms, which recognizes leaders in diversity, equity and inclusion within the legal industry.
For more information about Courtney Nichols joining the ALFAI Board of Directors, contact the firm’s Director of Marketing and Business Development, John Cornwell, at (248) 901-4008; jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.
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