Michael C. Gillespie

Michael C. Gillespie is a partner in Seaton, Seaton and Gillespie L.L.P. and practices in federal and state courts. He focuses on the defense of law enforcement agencies and their officers in civil rights and other matters, employment law, domestic law, and also general, commercial as well as business matters. He advises and counsels businesses;, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and their officers, governmental entities, and individuals concerning a variety of legal issues and problems.

Mr. Gillespie is well versed in employment matters, including the defense of discrimination claims against employers, and wage and hour issues. He develops and revise employee handbooks, and policy and procedure manuals for private and public employers. He has extensive experience in conducting internal corporate investigations.

Mike also represents employees in federal and state employment discrimination cases and unemployment cases.

Mike was co-trial counsel for the Sedgwick County, Kansas Sheriff's Department in Caban v. Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department, a 14-plaintiff federal civil rights action in which the plaintiffs--all then present or former corrections officers--brought multiple claims of race discrimination against the Department. After a trial lasting almost three weeks, the jury found for the Department on all counts; the National Law Journal recognized the defense team's efforts by declaring the case one of the Top Defense Verdicts in the United States for 2001.

Mr. Gillespie has served as assistant city attorney for various Kansas municipalities and served for several years as the Assistant Director for Legal Affairs and legal counsel for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center; he is a former Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Kansas. A frequent lecturer on employment law and law enforcement topics, including management issues and liability/risk management, he has also published various legal articles on a national and local basis. He has served on national and state law enforcement legal task forces. Mike is a certified police firearms instructor and certified emergency vehicle driving instructor.

Mr. Gillespie is also a former certified law enforcement officer who successfully completed the FBI's National Law Institute, the Bureau's prestigious program for police legal advisors, and also the FBI's Central States Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar. 

Mike is admitted to practice in all Kansas courts, the Federal District Court for the District of Kansas, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.