Elaina S. Bailey

Elaina Bailey is an associate with the firm’s Complex Litigation Group, representing employees unlawfully denied wages and overtime pay.

After receiving her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, Elaina later pursued her Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School, where she earned multiple scholarships and competed in regional and international moot court competitions. Outside the classroom, she interned with the U.S. Department of Labor Solicitor’s Office, the National Labor Relations Board, and Judge Avern L. Cohn of the Eastern District of Michigan. She also clerked for four Detroit-area litigation firms, one of which she joined after graduating and passing the Michigan bar exam.

It was at that firm where Elaina focused her practice on wage and overtime cases and helping workers obtain compensation for employers’ violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Michigan Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, and other state employment laws. She developed her knowledge of class action rules and procedures, appearing before federal district court judges and magistrates and participating in private mediation and settlement conferences.

Before joining Sommers Schwartz and moving home to Michigan, Elaina served as an attorney advisor to Administrative Law Judge Francine L. Applewhite of U.S. Department of Labor Office of Administrative Law Judges in Washington, D.C.