Cheryl R. Charles

Charlescheryl Web

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

Aquinas College
Grand Rapids, Michigan
B.S., B.A., Accounting & Business, 1986

Tax Specialist

Cheryl is a Tax Specialist at Varnum with nearly four decades of experience supporting tax and estate administration teams.  Cheryl specializes in tax planning and regularly prepares individual income tax returns and gift tax returns.  She also works extensively in trust administration, including the preparation of estate tax returns, trust income tax returns, and annual trust accountings.  Cheryl works with many Private Charitable Foundations on gifting strategies and prepares annual tax returns for those Foundations.  Additionally, she handles quarterly and annual wage tax reports for household employees of high-net-worth individuals.

W. Caleb Griscom

Griscomcaleb Web

Practice Areas

Education

Stanford Law School
Stanford, California
J.D., 2018

United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, Maryland
B.S., Economics, 2010

Bar Admissions

Michigan

California

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

All California state courts

Corporate Attorney

Caleb serves as Counsel on Varnum’s Corporate Practice Team focusing on M&A and private equity transactions. He advises on a wide range of deals, including mergers, equity and asset purchases, carve-outs, sale-leasebacks, and cross-border transactions.

Griscom has broad experience in corporate transactional matters, handling everything from drafting purchase agreements to coordinating complex closings. He also assists clients with general corporate matters, including entity formation, corporate governance and equity documentation.

Jeffrey T. Hewlett

Hewlettjeff Web

Practice Areas

Education

Wayne State University Law School
Detroit, MI
J.D., 2020

University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
B.S., 2016

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Litigation Attorney

Jeff assists clients in a range of litigation and intellectual property matters including commercial, business, trademark, and patent actions. He contributes to a variety of matters in commercial litigation, frequently supporting on shareholder disputes, construction disputes, and other business-related lawsuits.

As a patent attorney, Jeff advises clients in intellectual property litigation, counseling, and the prosecution of patents and trademarks. In addition to guiding clients through litigation and intellectual property strategy, Jeff provides support and advice to clients leading up to litigation. Throughout the litigation process, he also assists in handling pleadings, preliminary injunctions, discovery, and motion practice, helping clients advance their case through the courts.

Jeff has served as an intern to Judge Bernard A. Friedman in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and later as an extern for Nexteer Automotive’s Office of General Counsel in Intellectual Property.

Honors and Recognitions

Michigan Super Lawyers®, Rising Star, 2023-2024

Professional Affiliations

Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan Chapter

Christopher M. Mann

Mannchris Web

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

Wayne State University Law School
Detroit, Michigan
J.D., 2004

Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
B.A., 2000

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Corporate, Estate Planning and Tax Attorney

Chris concentrates his practice in the areas of business law, health care, automotive, estate planning, and tax. He advises clients on a variety of transactional and business matters, including mergers, acquisitions, liquidations, joint ventures, corporate governance, entity formation, purchases and sales of company interests, tax structuring and related compliance, and corporate succession planning.

Chris works closely with health care professionals and medical practices in several areas, including the formation, merger, and sale of medical practices, surgical centers, shareholder agreements, Stark Law, and other regulatory compliance, employment contracts, and corporate governance matters. He also frequently lectures physicians who are completing residencies and fellowships on issues that will pertain to them as they transition into practice.

He further represents individual in connection with estate plans that maximize the tax efficient transfer of wealth to successive generations of family members. In doing so, he is regularly involved in the creation of wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, business succession plans for closely held business owners, lifetime giving agreements, financial and health care powers of attorney, family partnerships, and charitable foundations and trusts. Chris’ advice often includes counseling on the preparation of tax returns for trusts and charitable foundations.

Honors and Recognitions

Best Lawyers in America®, Corporate Law: 2019 – 2023, Trusts and Estates: 2019 – 2023

DBusiness© magazine, Top Lawyer, Trust and Estates, 2018-2019

Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Leaders in the Law, 2017

Michigan Super Lawyers®, Rising Stars, 2016-2018

Leading Lawyer, Closely & Privately Held Business Law, Health Law, Tax Law, Business & Individual, Trusts, Will & Estate Planning Law, 2017-2023

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

American Bar Association

Oakland County Bar Association

The Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metropolitan Detroit

Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), past board member

Community Involvement

Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Partners Executive Committee; Planned Giving Advisory Committee

Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Planned Giving Advisory Committee

Detroit Public Television, Chair, Planned Giving Advisory Council