Effective Advocates • Trusted Counselors

Celebrating 140 Years of Legal Service

in Grand Rapids

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Wheeler Upham Lobby and Front Desk

Personalized Service

Wheeler Upham has been providing effective, efficient legal counsel for over 139 years. Our attorneys have backgrounds and expertise in virtually every area of the law, enabling us to continue a strong tradition of providing our clients the advantages of a full-service law firm.
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Offices

Our attorneys are leaders in the courtroom, boardroom, classroom, community and profession. Two of our founding attorneys served as federal judges, and several others have held seats on the local bench. Seven Wheeler Upham attorneys have served as President of the Grand Rapids Bar Association. One of our colleagues was elected President of the State Bar of Michigan.
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Locally based in West Michigan

Based in downtown Grand Rapids, our offices are adjacent to the Kent County and City Hall buildings. We are conveniently located just steps from the county, state and federal courthouses.Read More

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Wheeler Upham is a full service law firm

Our lawyers have expertise ranging from business and corporate law to estate planning and administration, from employment law to product liability defense, from personal injury to creditor’s rights. We have experts in the Postal Service, real estate law, insurance law, alternative dispute resolution and mediation, tax exempt and non-profit organizations, ecclesiastical law, litigation, and family law, and we can provide local counsel for out-of-town attorneys.
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Wheeler Upham Accessibility Statement

Updated: June 2023.

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Sophia Sunderhaus – Resume

 

Bar Admissions:

  • South Carolina, 2018
  • Michigan, 2022

 

Education:

  • JD, Charleston School of Law, 2018
  • Trial Advocacy Board Member
  • Vice President of External Competition
  • President of Student Animal Legal Defense Fund
  • Recipient of Pro Bono Award
  • BA, Pennsylvania State University, 2015
    • Criminology

 

Employment History:

  • Wheeler Upham, P.C., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2022-present
  • Berkeley County Public Defenders Office, South Carolina, 2018-2022

Proclamation from Attorneys General Mike Cox, Jennifer Granholm, and Frank Kelley

We, the undersigned Attorneys General of Michigan, representing the last five decades of the history of this office, join together today to recognize the law firm of Wheeler Upham, P.C. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the founding of this great legal institution, we are extremely grateful for the contributions of Wheeler Upham attorneys have made to our profession and are hopeful for their continued contributions in the years to come.

We are impressed by the outstanding achievements that generations of Wheeler Upham attorneys have recorded. What is even more noteworthy, we believe, are the many examples of leadership positions members of this firm have held. It is obvious that public service is a central value in the heritage of Wheeler Upham, as evidenced by the seven presidents of the Grand Rapids Bar Association the firm has been represented by over the years. Numerous judges have come from Wheeler Upham, as has a president of the State Bar of Michigan. Examples of the firm's leadership in Grand Rapids area philanthropies, local elected boards, and religious congregations are too numerous and great to chronicle in a letter.

We are among the countless Michigan attorneys that honor the legacy of the founders of Wheeler Upham's ancestor law firm, Fletcher & Wanty. Niram Fletcher and George Wanty were remarkable champions of the law and were men who dedicated their lives to justice. While the name of their law firm has changed over 125 years, the bedrock values of it have remained the same. Each day, important legal work is done by talented attorneys that carry out the firm's philosophies into the 21st Century - and the citizens of Michigan are better off because of their service.

On this day, let us join in celebrating 125 years of Wheeler Upham - an indispensible figure in Michigan's legal history. May pride in your accomplishments and renewed commitment to outstanding legal service highlight this important milestone.

Jon Fennell - Resume

Bar Admission:

  • Michigan, 2005
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, 2005

Education

  • J.D., University of Notre Dame Law School, 2005, cum laude
  • B.A., Calvin College, 1998 (dual major: classical languages and philosophy)
  • A.S., Moorpark College, 1995 (chemistry)

Employment History

  • Business executive and in-house attorney, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2011 – present
  • Private practice, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005 – 2011
  • Latin, Spanish, and logic teacher, North Hills Classical Academy, Grand Rapids, 1998-2002, 2003-2004