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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James M. Shafer

Mr. Shafer is a senior attorney with Wheeler Upham, P.C.  He anchors the firm’s elder law practice, guiding his clients through the many, varied legal issues surrounding aging and disability.  Having struggled to navigate difficult disability benefits and end of life issues for his own family, Mr. Shafer decided to concentrate on helping other families in similar circumstances.  With more than 25 years’ experience in related legal services, Mr. Shafer’s passion is to assist the disabled, the elderly, and their families through the complexities of health care and social security benefits and estate planning.  He assists clients with their Medicaid, Medicare and disability benefits issues, adult guardianship, nursing home contracts, special needs trusts, and ABLE accounts.  He also prepares wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and patient advocate designations, along with probate and trust administration.  Finally, Mr. Shafer continues to devote a significant amount of his practice to business succession planning, general business matters, real estate, taxation and non-profit management.

As an experienced elder law attorney, Mr. Shafer listens to his clients’ spoken and unspoken needs for dignity and compassion, helping them navigate an ever-changing set of regulations and legal standards.  He helps families through the emotional process of obtaining a guardianship or conservatorship for a loved one.

When representing clients with any of their needs – whether elder law, business, real estate, contract, estate planning, or tax matters, Mr. Shafer provides balanced, thoughtful, and practical advice.  He emphasizes collaboration with an eye toward furthering his clients’ overall goals and strategies.

Mr. Shafer and his wife, Leah, enjoy working on their ‘ranch’ in northeast Grand Rapids, caring for their 2 dogs, 3 barn cats and 19 chickens.  Mr. Shafer currently serves as the Chair of the Board of the Rockford Housing Commission.

Damien W. Sanchez

Mr. Sanchez is a litigator for clients on family law, criminal defense, first- and third-party insurance, contracts, and landlord-tenant cases. Mr. Sanchez also represents clients who are Spanish-speaking in all of these practice areas. El Abogado Damien Sanchez también representa clientes que hablan español en estas ramas de la ley.

Born and raised in a small town in Michigan, Mr. Sanchez attended the University of Michigan for his undergraduate studies, and he earned his Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law, where he served as an executive editor on the Law Review.

Mr. Sanchez’s passions for helping people and fighting for justice have always been a driving force in his life. Before coming to Wheeler Upham, Mr. Sanchez spent his law career in several different areas of law practice ranging from employment law, unemployment benefits law, family law, criminal law, bankruptcy law, and immigration law. Mr. Sanchez prides himself on his ability to offer empathy and sharp instincts while developing strong working relationships with clients. He is dedicated to tirelessly advocating for his clients and understands the importance of getting into the trenches and tenaciously fighting for them.

When not in the courtroom, Mr. Sanchez enjoys traveling with his wife and golfing. He is also a volunteer for the First Tee of West Michigan, and he is a lifetime Michigan sports fan.

Benjamin M. Nichele

Mr. Nichele primarily represents clients relating to first- and third-party auto insurance, premises liability, contracts, and civil litigation. He prides himself on his ability to identify critical issues and formulate organized strategies and is dedicated to efficiently obtaining favorable resolutions for his clients.

Before engaging in the private practice of law, Mr. Nichele worked for a Michigan-based insurance company, where he gained significant experience in the intricacies of the Michigan No-Fault Act and claims arising out of it.

Mr. Nichele attended Butler University in Indianapolis for his undergraduate studies, where he was a member of the men’s golf team. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School (now the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) in Chicago. While in law school, Mr. Nichele was a law clerk at two prominent personal injury firms and also clerked for a distinguished trial judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Outside of his practice of law, Mr. Nichele enjoys golfing with family and friends, comedy, and sports. Following their time in Chicago, he and his wife are thrilled to be putting down their roots and raising their children in Grand Rapids and enjoying all that West Michigan has to offer.

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.