Nicole Smith is an experienced labor and employment attorney whose practice involves counseling clients concerning discrimination and wage and hour issues, preparing executive agreements, negotiating issues arising out of such agreements, counseling and litigating matters arising from the various statutes overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act, assisting with labor and employment matters that arise in the course of corporate mergers and commercial real estate transactions, and working on all aspects of traditional labor matters, such as union avoidance, counseling, negotiations, and arbitrations.

Ms. Smith's practice is balanced between traditional employment law issues, including collective bargaining, arbitrations, union avoidance strategies, unfair labor practice cases, and representation cases, and those problems arising from the individual employee-employer relationship, such as race, sex, age, national origin, and disability discrimination claims, wage and hour matters, and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) issues.

A particular area of concentration for Ms. Smith is occupational safety. She has frequently represented companies in the aftermath of major workplace accidents, including industrial mishaps causing serious injuries and fatalities. Often among the first at the scene, Ms. Smith helps clients minister to grieving co-workers, even as she assists the client in preparing for and responding to the DOL's imminent investigation.

Ms. Smith also has extensive experience working with in-house counsel and human resources professionals on a daily basis, providing counseling on a wide range of employment matters (including compliance with local, state, and federal laws, personnel matters, and management-labor relations) and working closely with in-house professionals to prepare personnel policies and procedures.