www.varnumlaw.com
Phone: 616-336-6000
Varnum LLP
2022 Go To Thought Leader Article of the Year Award

2022 Winner:

National Law Review
Go To Thought Leader
Article of the Year

For 130 years, clients have trusted Varnum for excellence, innovation and superior results in the delivery of legal services. Over the years, as the needs of our clients have become more complex, we have kept pace by constantly expanding our areas of practice, our understanding of evolving trends and issues, and our ability to harness technology effectively.

Today, Varnum is firmly established as one of Michigan's premier law firms. A full-service provider of legal counsel, Varnum has a strong core of experience.

Varnum is a regional business law firm with more than 150 lawyers, serving clients in a full range of practice areas. We have built our reputation by helping clients identify opportunities, negotiate and close commercial transactions, win lawsuits and benefit from up-to-the-minute legal advice. Our clients range from large world-leading companies to smaller businesses who want world-class attention and service.

Varnum clients represent a diverse range of business and legal interests: manufacturers, financial institutions, health care providers, professional groups, municipalities, colleges and universities, school districts, developers, publishers, retailers, governmental units, transportation, trade associations and charitable organizations.

Partner
Steve focuses his practice on residential and commercial real estate transactions and community association representation. He provides counsel to condominium and homeowners associations…
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Varnum attorneys have practical experience serving the needs of agricultural producers, food processors and their suppliers. Our team approach provides expertise in each legal area while…
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Associate
Seth is a member of the Labor and Employment Practice Team. He has experience with employment disputes, labor disputes and employment agreements. He has also worked on commercial litigation…
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Partner
Seth is a partner and member of the firm’s Business and Corporate Services Team. He is experienced in business representation, planning and counseling. He focuses on mergers and…
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Partner
Luis focuses his practice on labor, employment and immigration issues. Luis has a wide range of experience in traditional labor matters, including grievances, arbitrations, collective…
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Partner
Brendan focuses his practice on restructuring, workouts and bankruptcies, representing creditors, debtors and other parties in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, out-of-court workouts and…
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Partner
Jeff’s practice focuses on business law, real estate, estate planning and aircraft transactions. He works with many companies and family businesses to handle their legal issues, including…
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Associate
Conor is a business and corporate attorney who advises emerging companies, private and family-owned businesses and private equity funds. He provides strategic and practical legal advice to…
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Partner
Matt is a partner on the Business and Corporate Services Practice Team, and participates in both the Startup and Emerging Companies and Intellectual Property Practice Teams. His practice…
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Partner
Adam is a partner in the Litigation Practice Team concentrating on complex civil litigation in both state and federal courts. He has extensive first-chair experience, including trial,…
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Counsel
Bob focuses his practice on public sector, litigation, and real estate matters. Within his public sector practice, he provides litigation services to cities, villages, townships, counties,…
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Partner
Kim focuses her practice on immigration matters, including nonimmigrant petitions, both employment- and family-based permanent residence applications, expatriation and foreign visa issues.…
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Associate
Jacob is a member of the firm’s Corporate Services Team and focuses on areas of corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, private offerings, corporate finance and other commercial…
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Partner
Rebecca is a partner with the Estate Planning Team. She counsels high-net-worth individuals and families in all personal legal matters, including sophisticated tax and estate planning,…
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Associate
Herman is a member of the Litigation and Trial Practice Team based in the firm's Grand Rapids office. He formerly served as a clerk for Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker in the District Court…
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Partner
Dick Hooker has had significant experience in traditional labor relations, state/federal agency work, employment litigation, union election campaigns, unemployment insurance taxation…
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Associate
Rob is a member of the Estate Planning Practice Team. He is experienced with all facets of advanced planning techniques, with a particular focus on the intersection of business matters and…
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Partner
Tim is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Corporate Law Practice Teams. He has extensive experience in many legal business areas including intellectual property and contract…
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Partner
Bob is a partner and co-chair of the Banking, Finance and Restructuring Team concentrating on commercial and real estate finance, loan restructurings and workouts,  receiverships,…
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Associate
Alex is a member of the Corporate Practice Team. His transactional experience includes mergers and acquisitions, real estate purchases and sales, and financing deals including private…
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Partner
Tim is a partner on the firm's Litigation and Trial Services Team. His practice focuses on helping clients resolve business disputes, including complex commercial tort and contract…
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Partner
Gary’s practice is primarily focused on representing companies and individuals – in Michigan and across the country – in connection with government enforcement actions and white collar…
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Partner
Larry is an experienced trial attorney concentrating on the defense of individuals and organizations in employment litigation, including matters involving discrimination, harassment,…
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Attorney
Lauren works with Varnum's Litigation, Real Estate, Corporate and Estate Planning Teams. She has a particular focus on litigation and has experience in commercial and environmental…
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Of Counsel
Dave is a member of the Environmental Practice Group and the Energy Law Practice Group. He works in the defense of federal and state environmental enforcement actions involving air quality…
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If you own land that touches or is bounded by a natural body of water, you are entitled to riparian rights. This very specialized aspect of real estate law presents unique challenges which…
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Partner
Bill has served firm clients for over three decades in litigation matters that have been resolved through arbitrations, mediations, and bench and jury trials. He also oversees Varnum’s…
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Partner
John represents clients in various types of complex commercial litigation and provides counsel on matters including regulatory compliance, licensing and insurance coverage. He has…
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Partner
Michael Romaya represents lenders and borrowers in a wide variety of commercial financial transactions. He has structured, negotiated, and documented numerous senior and subordinate debt…
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Partner
Mike focuses his practice on commercial litigation and trademarks. He also serves as a federal mediator. He has tried and arbitrated numerous commercial cases. 
Mike’s experience…
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Partner
Pete’s experience is in business and transactional work, with a heavy focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity, venture capital, family office and joint venture…
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Partner
Beth is a partner in the labor and employment practice group, focusing employment issues and litigation. She has counseled business clients on a variety of matters affecting the workplace,…
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Partner
Peter is a partner and leads the Personal Injury Practice Team. His practice focuses on business litigation defense (FSLA, Product Liability Defense, Malpractice Defense) as well as…
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Counsel
Jeffrey is a technology-focused corporate attorney with broad legal authority in autonomous and connected vehicles. He previously served as autonomous vehicle counsel for a major global…
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Partner
Shawn is an experienced tax attorney with a focus on corporate and partnership taxation issues. He advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, tax-exempt entities, individual tax…
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Associate
John is an associate currently working with Varnum’s litigation and environmental practice teams. He has worked on matters involving unfair competition and trade secrets, CERCLA (Superfund…
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Associate
Carolyn is an experienced labor and employment attorney whose practice focuses on compliance with federal and state labor and employment laws and other workplace matters. She provides…
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Associate
Rebecca is a member of the Estate Planning Practice Team. She advises clients on all aspects of estate planning and trusts, including probate avoidance, asset protection, special purpose…
Contact via Email | www.varnumlaw.com

The National Law Review has awarded Varnum LLP with the Article of the Year Thought Leadership Award for their coverage of the US Supreme Court’s failure to rule on the legality of Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19. The ETS covered all employers with more than 100 employees, and provided requirements for time off for vaccination, masking mandates, weekly testing, and much more. “Federal Vaccine/Testing Mandates Take Effect While Supreme Court Stays Silent,” authored by Varnum’s Luis E. Avila, Maureen Rouse-Ayoub, Stephanie R. Setterington, Elizabeth Wells Skaggs, Ashleigh E. Draft, and Justin M. Wolber detailed how these requirements were left untouched by SCOTUS in January of 2022, causing cascading effects in Michigan and beyond, as well as for CMS’ vaccination rule and for the extensive federal litigation surrounding the contentious coronavirus mandates. The article reached an audience of over 265,000 readers over the course of the year, speaking to the ongoing importance and timeliness of COVID-19 news coverage, and cementing it as the National Law Review’s Article of the Year.

Varnum attorneys Luis E. Avila and Jailah D. Emerson were named 2021 Go-To Thought Leaders for their analysis of updates to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which extends and expands several provisions of the FFCRA, and Mr. Avila and Ms. Emerson helped businesses and individuals alike keep up with the implications of the slew of COVID-19 assistance legislation that was enacted and revised in the last year, including ARPA. They provided actionable insights which were invaluable to NLR readers during a time when so many pandemic regulations and assistance programs were in a state of flux.

The 2018 NLR Go-To Thought Leadership Award for Article of the year goes to Kimberly A. Clarke and Nina Thekdi of Varnum LLP for  USCIS Outlines Protocols for New Employment Permanent Residence Interviews as it received over 100,000 views, 300 + Likes on Facebook and was mentioned and linked to by several other publications. 

 

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