Elizabeth Welch Lykins, Attorney

Elizabeth Welch Lykins of The Welch Law Firm, PLC practices exclusively in the area of labor and employment law. Her work includes assisting management with issues related to hiring and firing, wage and hour compliance as well as all aspects of employment law with various government agencies on the local, state and federal levels. She has extensive experience practicing in front of the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, and the state/federal Departments of Labor. Elizabeth is also a trained mediator. Elizabeth also assists executives and professionals with their employment agreements (including non-compete issues). In 1995, Elizabeth received her law degree from Ohio State University, where she served as a top editor for the Law Journal. She graduated from Penn State University with a history/business degree with honors and magna cum laude in 1992. After law school, she practiced labor and employment law with Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, PLLC, a large firm located in Louisville, Kentucky. She then returned home to Grand Rapids, Michigan and joined Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey, PLC, where she continued her labor and employment law practice until starting her own practice.

Elizabeth's clientele ranges from small family-owned business entities to larger corporations with a range of labor-employment needs. Her clients include builders and subcontractors, nonprofit associations and charities, service-based businesses (such as doctors' and dentists' offices) as well as several manufacturing entities.

Elizabeth is very involved in Grand Rapids' vibrant non-profit community. She is a graduate of the Leadership Grand Rapids program and is a past chair of the Board of Directors for Home Repair Services, an organization dedicated to assisting low income homeowners. She is the past Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Home & Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids, where she served as a Board Member for three years and is a long-time chairperson of the Human Resources Task Force. Elizabeth is a past board member for Camp Henry, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Hugh Michael Beahan Foundation (which served St. Andrew's school students), Social Venture Philanthropy (a Grand Rapids Community Foundation fundraising group), Westminster Child Development Center, and the Grand Rapids Bar Association. She is also active at Westminster Presbyterian Church, where she served as Trustee. She currently serves on the Boards of the Steelcase Foundation and the Michigan League of Conse rvation Voters. In 2009, she was recognized by the Grand Rapids Business Journal as a “40 Under 40” Leader.

Elizabeth regularly presents on hiring/firing, wage and hour compliance/overtime laws, and coordinated disability/leave issues (Americans with Disabilities Act; Family and Medical Leave Act). She served for many years as a Chapter Editor for the Developing Labor Law, a labor treatise published yearly by the American Bar Associations' Labor/Employment Law Section.

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Michael E. Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University	J.D.	Law School	N/A
			Pennsylvania State University B.A.