My relationship with my clients is what drives my practice. I strive to be:

  • Effective – To know your needs, values, priorities, and goals, and to tailor my work to be effective from your perspective;

  • Efficient – To use my experience to focus my efforts and any demand on your time, achieving your goals with reasonable rather than maximum effort;

  • Reliable – To make your needs a priority at all times; and

  • Responsive – To respond to you the same day, whether I am in the office, in court, in depositions, in meetings, or in mediation, and to meet with you in person or through conferencing as suits your needs.

A substantial portion of my practice is devoted to clients with whom I have a long-term relationship. I value these relationships and view them as a mark of trust in my ability to serve your legal needs in a highly professional manner.

CLIENT SERVICE

With a practice that represents a mix of cases situated locally in Michigan, regionally in the Midwest, and across the United States, the clients I work with are varied in size, nature of business and location. The following is a partial list of past and current clients.

  • Akzo Nobel Inc.

  • Anonymous specialty chemicals manufacturer, Gulf States

  • Anonymous high tech equipment manufacturer, Great Lakes States

  • Anonymous Great Lakes shoreline property owner

  • Anonymous inland lake riparian owner of property containing wetlands

  • Antea Group

  • Arkema Inc.

  • BASF

  • Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corp.

  • Circuit Electric, Inc.

  • Connor Forest Industries, Inc. (past cases)

  • ConocoPhillips

  • E. I. du Pont de Nemours

  • Duratrend Industries (past cases)

  • Evonik Industries

  • The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

  • Hackman Capital Partners

  • Hoover Group, Inc.

  • INX International Ink Co.

  • Legacy Site Services

  • Lloyd/Flanders

  • Midlink Business Park

  • Rohm and Haas

  • TOTAL PetroChemicals USA, Inc.

  • Van Solkema Produce Co.

COMMON COUNSEL

Some describe the challenging task of satisfying the related but sometimes competing needs of companies sharing counsel as "herding cats." The same sometimes is said of other pursuits, as well, such as coaching individualistic athletes, leading professional association committees, chairing community boards and facilitating settlement among litigating parties.

I see the role of common counsel as requiring skills to address a different set of challenges. To me, "herding cats" implies trying to steer the beasts toward my desired goal. As a coach, I have to do that. As chair of a community board, I had better do that. But when I serve as common counsel, my focus is on understanding the varied needs and interests of the group members. It is on identifying possible areas of dispute and common interest to help the group maintain a shared focus.

If there is a conflict among the group members I represent in common, I will work to identify it before it becomes an obstacle. That may allow us to work through or avoid the conflict. At a minimum, I will attempt to put a possible resolution in place before the conflict or dispute has broken the surface.

In my experience, every corporation has a culture and plan for working with competitors, customers, agencies and counsel. I make it my goal to understand what matters to each group member and to attempt to tailor action to fit the needs and expectations of all.

Every group has a purpose. Keeping that shared purpose in mind helps guide me as common counsel, and helps us work together to achieve that common purpose.

COLLABORATION

I collaborate with other attorneys and law firms in many capacities to serve them and their clients. These collaborations include serving as common counsel, co-counsel, environmental counsel, litigation counsel, local counsel, mediator, and arbitrator. I also serve as primary counsel due to conflict referrals or assist in the search for the right counsel for another firm's client when I am not that person.

I also serve as local counsel or specialized counsel working with firms who are either not located as close or whose experience and staffing does not extend to the areas of practice I have long engaged in.