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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Shane A. Henry

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.

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.

Jeffrey D. DenBraber

Mr. DenBraber practices primarily in the areas of personal injury defense litigation and insurance coverage defense litigation. His work includes defending both third-party and first-party motor vehicle cases, premises liability cases, dog bite cases, and other personal injury matters. He also handles commercial and real estate ligation for businesses and individuals, including cases involving breach of contract claims, transactional disputes, commercial and residential leases, and easements and other land rights.

Mr. DenBraber has co-authored, with fellow Wheeler Upham attorney Daniel J. James, a featured article in The Journal of Insurance & Indemnity Law (a publication of the Michigan Bar Association) titled “Underinsured Motor Vehicles and Setoffs for Tortfeasor Coverage” (page 11, Volume 11, No. 2, April 2018.)

Catherine M. Sullivan

Ms. Sullivan’s primary area of specialty is family law, including divorce, custody, parenting time, child support, spousal support, paternity, and the enforcement and modification of existing judgments. She offers a free initial consultation for a new divorce matter.

Ms. Sullivan has handled uncontested divorces as well as more complex matters involving business appraisals, extensive property holdings, and expert witness testimony. She provides her clients with confident guidance in difficult times. She also has over thirty years’ experience in civil litigation and personal injury law. Ms. Sullivan was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1987. She joined Wheeler Upham in 2011.

Ms. Sullivan has served the City of Grand Rapids with an eight-year appointment on the Zoning Board of Appeals, during which she was promoted to Vice-Chairperson. She is a life-long resident of Grand Rapids.

10 Best American Institute Family Law