Bonnie M. Smith

Bonnie represents employees who have been treated unfairly by their employers.  In both individual and collective action cases, Bonnie fights tirelessly for clients who have suffered discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act violations, contract breaches, wage and hour violations, and many other injustices. She began working for Nichols Kaster in 2009 as a law clerk, and returned in 2010 as an attorney.  Bonnie’s experience includes winning an unemployment benefits appeal, defeating summary judgment in a pregnancy discrimination case, second-chairing an arbitration to hold an employer liable for breach of contract, and negotiating substantial settlements for clients in several cases.

Before joining Nichols Kaster, Bonnie worked as a student attorney at the University of Wisconsin’s Remington Center, where she represented federal prison inmates in civil and post-conviction matters. In law school, Bonnie focused her studies on civil rights issues in the workplace, particularly in the area of gender equality.  She worked for the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society all three years, serving as Note and Comment Editor her third year.

Admissions

• California Supreme Court
• Minnesota Supreme Court
• Wisconsin Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court – District of Minnesota
• U.S. District Court – Western District of Wisconsin

Education

• J.D. University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude
• B.A. Yale University

Publications / Speaking Engagements

• “Litigation and the Federal Rules. What Every Paralegal Should Know." Institute for Paralegal Education, Telewebinar, (2012).
• Wisconsin State Bar Association Academic Achievement Award
• ABA Midwinter Report, FMLA Subcommittee, contributor
• National Employment Lawyers Association, member
• American Bar Association, member
• Minnesota State Bar Association, member
• California State Bar Association, member
• Wisconsin State Bar Association, member
• Yale Alumni Schools Committee, interviewer