Representative Experience

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Closed more than 200 M&A transactions in a variety of industries, including automotive, manufacturing, business services, advanced technology, and other sectors.
• Represents private equity firms, private and publicly held corporations, closely held and family businesses, and family offices in a variety of M&A, joint venture, and other investment matters.
• Has extensive restructuring experience in “distressed M&A” and guided two debtors through Chapter 11 plan confirmation.

Finance

• Represents borrowers and lenders in a variety of corporate finance transactions.
• Began his career doing extensive work for a large global bank, a large complex of mezzanine loan funds, and a complex of venture capital funds, focusing on private transactions.

Corporate Counseling

• Serves as outside general counsel to several companies, including both for-profit and nonprofit concerns. This work includes counseling on business formation and corporate and board governance, general corporate and commercial contract counseling, and a variety of other legal and compliance matters.

Nonprofit

• Extensive experience in representing nonprofits, and counseling and service on nonprofit boards.
• Served as chief operating officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a 501(c)(3) focused on economic development.
• Serves as secretary, treasury, and board member of NextEnergy Center, a 501(c)(3) focused on energy and mobility.
• Served on several Boards in his capacity as chief regulatory officer of the State of Michigan.
• Active with other nonprofits, including Invest Detroit (member of Investment Committee) and MichAuto (co-chair of Advocacy Committee), a statewide program of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Government Affairs

• Assists with government and public affairs matters in Michigan as a registered lobbyist in Michigan and member of the firm’s Government Solutions Team, which assists clients with a variety of administrative and legislative matters in Michigan including in Lansing and Detroit.
• Served as chief regulatory officer for the State of Michigan under Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. In that capacity, he served as director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and its Office of Regulatory Reinvention (ORR). He later served as chief operating officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) under Governor Snyder.

Automotive

• Co-founded Foley’s Automotive Industry Team, focused on representing automotive suppliers and technology companies with their full range of legal needs. In that role, he has handled mergers and acquisitions, finance, and other corporate mandates for numerous automotive suppliers.
• Served as legal counsel to a number of strategy councils of the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Associate / Original Equipment Suppliers Association.
• Currently co-chairs the Advocacy Committee of MichAuto, a statewide program of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce focused on growing the automotive and mobility industries in Michigan and driving automotive and mobility policy in Michigan.