Joyce E. Smithey, Esq.
Smithey Law Group, LLC
706 Giddings Avenue, Suite 200
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 919-2990
Joyce.smithey@smitheylaw.com
Joyce Smithey is the Managing Partner of Smithey Law Group LLC. In 2024, Ms. Smithey was once again selected for inclusion as a Maryland Super Lawyer in the area of Labor and Employment Law. Ms. Smithey has also been named for multiple years among Maryland’s Top 50 Women Attorneys and Top 100 Attorneys, as published in Baltimore Magazine. She was also an honoree of Baltimore’s SmartCEO’s 2016 Centers of Influence award, and received The Daily Record’s Leadership in Law Award in 2019. She also received the Daily Record’s Maryland’s Top 100 Women Award in 2022 and 2023. She has received a Band 1 ranking in the Chambers USA legal guide, and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She also appeared on the Daily Record’s 2023 Employment Law Power List, in Business Today’s Top Maryland Employment Lawyers, and in Baltimore Business Journal’s Women to Watch. She is also listed in Best Lawyers in America. She has been quoted, covered, and interviewed as an expert in her field in The New York Times, NBC, The Washington Post, US News and World Report, and countless other broadcast media and publications.
Ms. Smithey regularly advises employees on all matters relating to employment law, including:
• Discrimination, including race, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, family responsibilities, and religion
• Sexual harassment
• Retaliation and reprisal
• The Equal Pay Act
• Representation of public sector employees
• Disability accommodation and discrimination
• Medical leave
• Wrongful discharge
• Workplace privacy
• Defamation
• Employment contracts and restrictive covenants
• ERISA discrimination
• Employee and applicant testing
• Wage and hour issues
• WARN
Ms. Smithey has represented clients in state and federal courts, arbitrations, and before the Department of Labor, state and county commissions on human relations, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has handled numerous jury trials, appellate oral arguments before the First and Fourth Circuits, bench trials, administrative hearings, and motion hearings. Ms. Smithey is also a trained mediator on workplace issues.
Ms. Smithey has taught seminars and law school courses on employment law topics. She has also published extensively on employment law and civil litigation. She authored the Fourth Edition of Maryland Rules Commentary and is a contributing author to the MSBA Maryland Employment law Deskbook.
Ms. Smithey is a member and Chair-elect of the Section Council of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association, and a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the District of Columbia Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. She is a member of the Women’s Bar Association of Maryland, the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Maryland Employment Lawyers Association, and the Maryland Association for Justice. She also served on the Board of Governors of the Maryland State Bar Association in 2019-2020. Ms. Smithey also does extensive pro bono work in the area of employment law, including serving on the Employment Law Hotline for the Women’s Law Center and teaching in the Workplace Street Law Program. She has also authored amicus briefs for the National Employment Lawyers Association.
Ms. Smithey received her Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law where she researched and authored “Housing Discrimination Against People with Mental Disabilities: How does the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988 Help Implement the Goals of Deinstitutionalization?” Ms. Smithey received her Bachelor of Arts from Pepperdine University. She is admitted to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to becoming Managing Partner of Smithey Law Group LLC, Ms. Smithey was a partner at mid-size Maryland law firm where she chaired the Employment and Labor Practice group.