Nakisha N. Chaney

Of Counsel

(248) 679.8711 chaney@sppplaw.com Nakisha N. Chaney Detroit, MI

About Nakisha

Nakisha Chaney is a workplace investigator, mediator and litigator. In her litigation practice, Nakisha represents clients seeking redress in employment and civil rights cases, including those involving discrimination and harassment, retaliation, police misconduct, and human trafficking. As a mediator, Nakisha has helped resolve a broad range of disputes, including in employment, landlord-tenant, service and property cases. In addition to mediating in her private practice, Nakisha also serves as a volunteer mediator for the Washtenaw County Dispute Resolution Center. In her investigation practice, Nakisha is retained by government, union, nonprofit and for-profit entities to conduct investigations of alleged workplace misconduct and other concerns. She is also a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators.

Nakisha has spoken, written and lectured extensively in the fields of employment law and civil rights, including on mediation, workplace investigations, sexual harassment and human trafficking. Nakisha served as faculty for ICLE’s 38th and 45th Labor & Employment Law Institutes and for its Deposition Skills Workshop, and she taught courses in Civil Rights Litigation and Depositions at the University of Toledo College of Law. Nakisha currently teaches courses in Civil Rights Litigation and Mediation at the University of Michigan Law School, where she also guest lectured on sexual harassment, labor trafficking, workplace investigations, depositions, and employment law.

Prior to joining Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter, Nakisha was a Senior Attorney at NachtLaw P.C., where she practiced employment and civil rights litigation. She previously served as a commercial litigator at Dickinson Wright PLLC, and she clerked for two years at the Michigan Supreme Court.

Nakisha earned her Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College in African American Studies and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School.

Awards / Recognition

  • Litigator of the Year, Human Trafficking Legal Center (2023)
  • Hero of ADR Award, State Bar of Michigan Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (2023)
  • Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist, Public Justice (2020)
  • Evidence Award – Legal Advocacy, The House of the Lord Church, National Dep’t of Women’s Work (2020)
  • Super Lawyers, Civil Rights (2020 to present)
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” Award, Washtenaw County Bar Association (2018)
  • Super Lawyers, Employment Litigation (2018, 2019)
  • National Black Lawyers – Top 100 (2016)

Service

  • Human Trafficking Legal Center, Advisory Board Member
  • Michigan State Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Skills Action Team, Member
  • ACLU, Michigan Lawyers Committee of Washtenaw County, Past Member
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Council, Michigan State Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Past Member-at-Large
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Annual Conference Planning Subcommittee, Past Chairman
  • District Character and Fitness Committee, State Bar of Michigan, Past Member
  • Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Psi Omega Chapter, President
  • African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County, Vice-Chair, Board of Directors
  • Citizens for Racial Equity in Washtenaw, Board of Directors, Member
  • Amnesty International USA, Member
  • Board of Directors, Ozone House, Past Member
  • Board of Directors, Student Advocacy Center of Michigan, Past Member
  • Board of Directors, Sanctum House, Past Member

Teaching / Speaking

Nakisha has spoken extensively on issues of employment litigation, sexual harassment, and human trafficking, including the following:

  • Lecturer, University of Michigan Law School,  Mediation 767/001 and Civil Rights Litigation Practicum 807/001
  • Lecturer, University of Toledo College of Law, Deposition Practice Simulation, LAWT 9600, and Civil Rights Litigation, LAWI 9220
  • Co-Presenter, Mediation Advocacy: A Best Practices Review, State Bar of Michigan Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (2024)
  • Moderator, “Good Trouble” and Mediation: Where the Search for Justice Meets the Neutrality Trap, State Bar of Michigan Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Summit (2023)
  • Panelist, Managing Police Encounters, Detroit International Academy and The Links, Inc. (2023)
  • Faculty, Deposition Skills Workshop, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2023)
  • Panelist, Anatomy of a Workplace Investigation: Challenges and Considerations in Complex Culture and Employment Practices Workplace Investigations, State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Section Springboard (2023)
  • Moderator, Effective Reality Testing of Economic Damages: Reflections of an Economist and Mediators, ADR Section Conference and Annual Meeting, State Bar of Michigan (2020)
  • Panelist, Mastering Mediation: Empowering Young Lawyers with Best Practices, 14th Annual Young Lawyers Summit (2023)
  • Speaker, How to Be a Successful Civil Rights Lawyer, Black Women Lawyers Ass’n of Michigan (2022)
  • Panelist, Cancel Culture in the Workplace, Labor & Employment Law Section Diversity & Wellness Lunch and Learn (2021)
  • Moderator/Panelist, How to Be an Effective Mediation Advocate, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Young Lawyers Sections, State Bar of Michigan (2021)
  • Faculty, Can’t You Hear the Whistleblowing? Workplace Retaliation and What Employers and Employees Need to Know, 45th Annual Labor & Employment Law Institute, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2020)
  • Speaker, Doe v. Michigan Dep’t of Corrections, Human Trafficking Civil Litigation Group (2020)
  • Panelist, Sexual Harassment Policies and Investigations, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2018)
  • Speaker, Sexual Harassment, University of Michigan Society of Women Engineers (2018)
  • Keynote Speaker, Private Enforcement: The Role of Civil Litigation in Combating Human Trafficking, 2018 MHTTF and PAAM Human Trafficking Conference, Michigan Human  Task Force and Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (2018)
  • Speaker, Human Trafficking: Civil Litigation, Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force, Mason, Michigan (2017)
  • Speaker, Insights into the Legal Profession, Kappa Alpha Pi Pre-Law Fraternity, University of Michigan (2016)
  • Panelist, Women with a Purpose, National Council of Negro Women, University of Michigan Chapter, Ann Arbor, MI (2016)
  • Speaker, From Oberlin Grad to Human Trafficking Litigator, First in the Family Speaker Series, Oberlin College (2016)
  • Speaker, Human Trafficking Forum, Ypsilanti District Library, Ypsilanti, Michigan (2016)
  • Speaker, What is Human Trafficking, Farmington Hills Democratic Club, Farmington Hills, MI (2016)
  • Panelist, Human Trafficking, Citizen Education Law Clinic, Ann Arbor, MI (2016)
  • Guest Speaker, Civil Litigation and Human Trafficking, 910 am Detroit (radio) (2016)
  • Speaker, Employment Practices and Pitfalls, Nonprofit Administrator’s Forum, Ann Arbor, MI (2016)
  • Speaker, The Role of Lawyers in Combating Human Trafficking, ATLAS, Michigan State University College of Law (2016)
  • Presenter, Michigan’s Human Trafficking Laws, Lucas County (Ohio) Human Trafficking Coalition Meeting, Toledo, Ohio (2014)

Publications

  • Co-author, Civil Rights Damages, Damages and Remedies in Michigan, Institute of Continuing Education (2018)
  • Author, The Private Cause of Action and the Fight Against Human Trafficking, Labor and Employment Law Notes (2015)
  • Co-author, Labor Trafficking, Res Ipsa Loquitur (2013)
  • Author, Hidden in Plain Sight:  Labor Trafficking in Michigan, State Bar of Michigan, Labor and Employment Law Notes (2012)

Media

Bar Admissions

Nakisha is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. She is admitted to practice in the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Testimonials

Ms. Chaney immediately put me to ease. She was so professional yet spoke in words that I could understand. Ms. Chaney was always available by phone and e-mail, and never hesitated to answer my many questions. I was very satisfied…

I am very grateful to Ms. Chaney for helping me take a principled stand, and by doing so, improve working conditions for the agency’s current and future employees. Her efforts will ultimately ensure that those employees demonstrate greater respect for…

I hired Ms. Chaney to negotiate a settlement with my employer after an unexpected termination. She was professional, responsive and kind. She is able to piece together information to determine my history of the working relationships between myself and work…

I hired Nakisha after I was terminated as a graduate student for “failing” a clinical rotation that had undertones of discrimination. I had appealed the decision without success on my own and the University was ignoring any evidence of discrimination…

Nakisha is a wonderful advocate and great to work with.

Nakisha is a conscientious and thoughtful attorney who gives every client and every case her full attention and the full benefit of her years of experience and knowledge.

“Thanks to (Ms. Chaney), I was able to graduate in December of 2015 … You believed in me during a time in my life when it felt like I’d never get past the negativity surrounding me. You fought for me, from…

I want to thank Nakisha Chaney for taking the time to listen to a group of women that didn’t have a voice in the work place. Nakisha was the only attorney out of five that truly believed we had a…

Kisha was a phenomenal attorney.  She was very hardworking and determined with my case.  She pushed me to stay motivated even when obstacles risen.  Thank you Kisha for being a great attorney.