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Chad J. Smith

Managing Associate
Columbus
T.
614.223.9311
liamE

Chad regularly represents companies across multiple industries in labor and employment commercial disputes in federal and state trial and appellate courts nationwide. With forward-focused, business-wise strategies, he helps clients manage workforce challenges, mitigate legal risk, and protect their business interests.

Chad’s wide-ranging experience includes favorably resolved allegations of discrimination, harassment, restrictive covenant violations, trade secret misappropriation, retaliation, and wage and hour violations, among other matters. He has successfully defended clients in single-plaintiff and multiparty cases, as well as putative and actual class and collective actions against hospitals, restaurants, banks, and tech companies. Chad also regularly guides employers through investigations by the EEOC and state agencies such as the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

To avoid litigation, corporate clients rely on Chad for guidance on day-to-day employment issues, including hiring, employee discipline and discharge, worker classification, workforce reductions, leave and disability accommodation policies, and employment considerations in mergers and acquisitions. They appreciate his responsiveness, efficiency, and ability to deliver effective counsel quickly when time-sensitive labor or employment issues arise.

  • Labor & Employment
  • Employment Litigation & Counseling
  • Trade Secrets, Restrictive Covenants & Unfair Competition
  • Litigation
  • The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, 2017, J.D.
    • Articles Editor, The Ohio State Law Journal
    • CALI Award in Corporate Governance and Business Bankruptcy
  • The Ohio State University, 2013, B.A., Economics and Political Science
  • Ohio
  • West Virginia
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
  • Member, Builders Exchange
  • Member, Susan G. Komen Columbus Community Board
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August 6, 2025
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