Sophia Sunderhaus

Ms. Sunderhaus devotes much of her practice to criminal defense and litigation. She believes everyone is entitled to a competent legal defense at all stages of the criminal process.

Before coming to Wheeler Upham, Ms. Sunderhaus was a Public Defender in Charleston, South Carolina. There she represented indigent clients on a variety of misdemeanor and felony charges.

Ms. Sunderhaus earned a bachelors degree in Criminology from Penn State University. She then attended law school in South Carolina at Charleston School of Law, graduating in 2018. Ms. Sunderhaus has been admitted to the State Bar of South Carolina since November 2018 and was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in October of 2022.

Ms. Sunderhaus moved to Michigan in August of 2022 to be closer to her husband’s family. In her free time, Ms. Sunderhaus enjoys spending time with her husband, Sean, and their dog, Penny.

Mr. Henry devotes much of his practice to estate planning and probate administration and litigation. He believes in the importance of custom-tailoring an estate plan that is designed to meet each client’s needs to avoid unnecessary stress and hassle later and to make sure the client’s wishes are carried out as far as how the estate should be distributed. When working on probate litigation and administration, Mr. Henry’s goal is to make sure his clients have a full understanding of the process, and he tries to put his clients at ease during what is often an incredibly stressful time in their lives. Mr. Henry also serves business clients in various capacities.

Before coming to Wheeler Upham, Mr. Henry was a partner in a small law firm in his hometown of Hastings, Michigan. He practiced in many different areas of law, including estate planning and probate law, criminal defense, family law, landlord/tenant disputes, business formation, abuse/neglect, and juvenile delinquency. This afforded him many opportunities to satisfy clients’ transactional needs along with their litigation needs inside of the courtroom.

Mr. Henry earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Michigan. After his time at U of M, he worked in the insurance industry before attending law school at Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in November of 2017.

In his free time, Mr. Henry enjoys spending time with his wife Kendra, daughter Kennedy, and son Chase, as well as their two dogs, Rosie and Catalina. He is also an avid sports fan and enjoys following U of M and Detroit sports and the Grand Rapids Griffins. He enjoys indulging in music and loves playing his drums whenever he has the opportunity.

Mr. Travis’s practice primarily involves insurance defense, general civil litigation, and supporting farmers. He also makes use of his previous experience in private practice with criminal, family, municipal, regulatory compliance, and immigration law. Mr. Travis is a committee member of the Agricultural Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan and understands the unique legal issues faced by Michigan farmers, such as right to farm, nuisance complaints, estate planning, PA 116 tax credits, Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices (GAAMP) compliance, and ordinance compliance.

Before joining Wheeler Upham, Mr. Travis served as a judicial law clerk and research attorney in the 48th Circuit Court of Allegan County, dealing with every type of case that comes before circuit courts in Michigan. He thus has experience and insight related to matters involving criminal law, family law, civil litigation, and appeals. Mr. Travis was tasked with authoring legal opinions and judgment orders in matters as diverse as easements, restrictive covenants, injunctions, short-term rentals, adverse possession, and acquiescence. He also wrote opinions on personal injury matters, including automobile and slip and fall accidents, and domicile issues within the no-fault act. He gained invaluable experience with litigation and trial techniques by assisting the judge during trials and evaluating jury instructions.

In addition, Mr. Travis has over a decade of experience in regulatory compliance law–seven years involving matters regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and four years involving activities governed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Travis helped develop corporate standard operating procedures, policies, and guidance for employees to remain compliant with applicable laws and regulations.

Mr. Travis is also actively involved in his community. He currently serves as the elected supervisor of his township, as the secretary of his community’s fire board, and as a member of his community’s ambulance board. While in these roles he has helped negotiate contractual agreements and settle intergovernmental disputes. He is also a Master Mason at Fidelity Lodge 513 in Otsego, Michigan.

When Mr. Travis is not working, he enjoys spending time on his hobby farm with his wife Bree, his sons Trenton and Tomos, and his daughter Rhiannon. On the farm the family has 4 horses (Lilly, Nash, Bingo, and Cricket), 10 chickens (his daughter has a name for all of them), 1 dog (Luna), and 1 cat (Indy). Mr. Travis also enjoys reading books on history, his college major, and driving his 1953 M38A1 Willys Jeep.

Barbara J Kennedy

Ms. Kennedy practices primarily in the areas of civil and commercial litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice, state licensing matters, employment law, and selected family law matters. She has extensive litigation experience and has appeared before state trial courts, the Michigan Court of Claims, the United States District Courts (Eastern and Western divisions) and the Michigan Board of Professional Licensing. Ms. Kennedy has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan since the formation of the Legal Assistant Section in 1986 and was admitted to the Bar in 1995. She is active in professional and community organizations, including leadership positions in the American Legion Auxiliary.

Ms. Kennedy has over 26 years of experience in the legal profession as counsel in a wide variety of civil, regulatory, licensing, dispute resolution, and family law matters. She enjoys the unique advantage of having acquired a comprehensive perspective on effective litigation handling, gained from several years as a legal secretary and paralegal in litigation practices. She is a hands-on, results-oriented attorney committed to excellent and effective representation. She achieved two undergraduate degrees and her law degree, all with academic honors, while attending night school and working full time in the legal profession.

Prior to joining Wheeler Upham, Ms. Kennedy worked for the City of Detroit Law Department defending civil litigation matters and continued her litigation career at firms in Detroit, Okemos, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has instructed students in the legal secretary and paralegal fields and acted as a substitute teacher in the Lansing Community College paralegal program. She has participated in numerous presentations and webinars on medical malpractice, risk management, public and private healthcare liens, and peer review.

Ms. Kennedy has co-published articles for Medscape, the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel Quarterly, and the Michigan Dental Association Journal, and she acted as a guest editor of the Michigan Bar Journal’s first Legal Assistants theme issue.