Known as a fervent advocate for her clients, Nelva Smith is a labor and employment attorney whose wide-ranging experience makes her an extremely effective advisor for her clients. From general day-to-day counseling, to litigation, workers' compensation, and safety and health issues, employers of all sizes rely on Nelva to guide them through the myriad challenges of labor and employment law.  Nelva is diligent and aggressive in defending her clients’ interests and is experienced assisting clients in the automotive, aviation, construction, and manufacturing industries.

As a member of the firm’s Workplace Safety Team, she has defended employers in front of the Industrial Commission on a variety of issues that arise out of Ohio workers’ compensation matters, and she also has extensive experience in safety and health issues, with an emphasis on OSHA. She has presented on several occasions nationally on OSHA topics, and she has twice been a contributing editor to the national treatise on Occupational Safety and Health Law.

Nelva has experience defending employers in general employment litigation, charges before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, charges before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, charges before the National Labor Relations Board, and defending OSHA citations, and she has also successfully handled wage and hour audits before a state government agency.

In addition, to her employment experience, Nelva is also on the firm’s Higher Education Team and actively represents several universities and colleges in the region against Title IX litigation. Nelva is a member of the Environment, Social, Governance ("ESG") group, a group of attorneys with experience and knowledge about how ESG impacts all aspects of business.