Samuel P. Kokoszka
Ali H. Bazzi
Sarah S. Weston
Julia S. Moran
Dilan J. Kama
Cheryl R. Charles
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.
Kathryn L. Ahlbrand
W. Caleb Griscom
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
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
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