Lindsay P. DeLang

Randolphlindsay Photo Bw

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

Wayne State University Law School
Detroit, Michigan
J.D., cum laude, 2023

University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
B.A., with distinction, Political Science and minor in History, 2018

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Corporate Attorney

Lindsay works with the Corporate Practice Team, focusing primarily on immigration and health care. In her immigration practice, Lindsay focuses on employment and family-based immigration matters. She assists clients with nonimmigrant petitions and employment and family-based permanent residence petitions, including the labor certification process, visas for extraordinary ability, and multinational manager and executive petitions. As part of the Heath Care Practice Team, Lindsay provides counsel on regulatory matters, including HIPPA, Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, and other compliance issues. Lindsay is also a member of Varnum’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Practice Team and regularly drafts agreements related to NIL licensing and promotional engagements.

Before joining Varnum, Lindsay was an associate at a public affairs agency, served as the special assistant to the Ohio Secretary of State, and an assistant in the Ohio Governor’s office.

Professional Affiliations

Michigan Immigration Lawyers Association

State Bar of Michigan

Chanel T. Taylor

Taylorchanel Photo Web

Practice Areas

Education

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
Detroit, Michigan
J.D., cum laude, 2023

Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan
B.A., magna cum laude, Public Relations, 2019

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Attorney

Chanel supports the labor and employment, estate planning and family law practice teams. She is a skilled researcher and experienced at providing a wide variety of legal documents. While in law school, she served as a judicial extern to the Hon. Arthur Tarnow in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

 

Michael P. Puro

Puromichael Web

Practice Areas

Education

Wayne State University Law School
Detroit, Michigan
J.D., cum laude, 2023
Wayne Law Review, Editor in Chief
Order of the Coif

University of Michigan
Flint, Michigan
B.A., Political Science, 2018

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Corporate Attorney

Michael is a member of the corporate team, focusing on business and transactional matters. He assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and structuring matters, and securities law compliance. He also advises private equity funds, venture capital firms, financial institutions, emerging companies, and publicly traded businesses at all stages of their development.

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

Rebecca L. Grove

Groverebecca Web

Practice Areas

Education

Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, D.C.
LL.M.

Duke University School of Law
Durham, North Carolina
J.D., with honors

University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
B.A., with highest distinction

Bar Admissions

Michigan
California
New York

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Estate Planning Attorney

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, philanthropy, real estate and business succession.

With a wealth of experience in tax controversy, she guides clients through various challenges pertaining to income tax, estate tax, and gift tax audits. She has also provided invaluable support in navigating complex valuation matters, securing private letter rulings, and overseeing tax appeals.

Rebecca has unique expertise in the field of art law, specializing in a diverse range of areas such as art transactions, including purchase, sale, consignment, and collection management. Her expertise also extends to crucial aspects like insurance, appraisal, charitable donations, attribution, cultural heritage property, and customs compliance.

In addition, Rebecca has comprehensive knowledge in the establishment and ongoing legal counsel for foundations and public charities, including a deep understanding of intricate charitable structures.

Rebecca is licensed to practice in New York and California, in addition to Michigan. She has significant experience with multi-jurisdictional estate planning and strategies to minimize state estate and gift tax.

Honors and Recognitions

Best Lawyers in America®, Tax Law, 2013 – 2023

DBusiness Top Lawyers, 2014 – 2015

Leading Lawyers Magazine Michigan, 2017

Michigan Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2008 – 2010

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

California Bar Association

New York Bar Association

Financial & Estate Planning Council of Detroit

Duke University Alumni Association

Community Involvement

Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Junior Council, Board of Directors, Robert H. Tannahill Society

HAVEN, Board of Directors

Michael Z. Zavier

Zavier Michael Web

Practice Areas

Education

Wayne State University Law School
Detroit, Michigan
J.D., 2012

Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
B.A., Business Administration, 2009

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Litigation Attorney

Michael is a member of the litigation and trial team. He represents clients in a wide range of complex disputes, including first and third party auto claims, premises and general liability matters, health care provider recovery and other complex civil litigation matters. He specializes in the advocacy and representation of clients that have sustained catastrophic physical or traumatic brain injuries. His clients include numerous medical service providers where he litigates disputes over No Fault eligibility, coverage, causation and priority disputes under Michigan’s No Fault Insurance Act. Michael has represented clients across the State of Michigan, as well as in multiple states around the country.

Prior to joining the firm, Michael worked for a law firm in Southfield where his practice concentrated on representing medical providers involving catastrophic personal injury and No Fault insurance matters. For the past three years, Michael has been named by Michigan Super Lawyers® as a “Rising Star”, an honor given to 2.5 percent of the lawyers in Michigan.

Honors and Recognitions

Michigan Super Lawyers®, Rising Star, 2021-2024

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

Michigan Association of Justice

Kathleen A. Martone

Practice Areas

Education

Wayne State University Law School
Detroit, Michigan
J.D., 2015

Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
B.A., 2012

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Estate Planning Attorney

Kathleen is a trusts and estates attorney focused on creating customized estate plans for a wide range of individuals and multi-generational families which achieve goals such as tax avoidance, business succession planning and charitable giving. She also provides counsel to individual and corporate fiduciaries regarding the timely and efficient management of trusts and estates, including probate administration when necessary. An experienced litigator, Kathleen also handles controversies and frequently appears in Probate Court to handle both routine and contested matters throughout Southeast Michigan. 

Experience

Routinely represent high net worth clients including leading planning for the second generation of an ultra-high net worth family which utilized various wealth transfer techniques collectively removing over $30M in assets from taxable estates through grantor trusts.

Implemented plan which transferred situs of a $25M trust to a favorable jurisdiction which allowed for decanting resulting in the expansion of special power of appointment to allow a client to update her planning to provide for her desired beneficiary.

Management of taxable estates, including advice with regard to funding marital trust or family trust, obtaining business valuations and assist accountants with Form 706.

Effectively implemented postmortem trust modification by seeking probate court approval to effectuate a high value specific bequest made orally in close proximity to death.

Lead litigation and negotiate resolution on behalf of an irrevocable trust regarding decades of unprepared marital trust accountings following the surviving spouse’s death.

Honors and Recognitions

Best Lawyers in America®, One to Watch, Trusts and Estates, since 2021

Grand Rapids Magazine’s Top Lawyers, Trusts and Estates, 2023

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan, Probate and Estate Planning Section

Oakland County Bar Association

Presentations

Behind the Curtain: What Goes On in Charitable Estate Planning, Planned Giving Roundtable of Southeast Michigan, June 2022

Drafting an Estate Plan for Estates Under $5 Million, ICLE, Spring 2022

Taxes and Estate Planning: Where Do We Go From Here?, ICLE, Fall 2022

Community Involvement 

Planned Giving Roundtable of Southeast Michigan, Board of Directors

Detroit Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Detroit, Class XLV

Robert E. Kass

Practice Areas

Education

New York University Law School
New York City, New York
LL.M., Taxation, 1979

University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
J.D., cum laude, 1972

Graduate Institute of International Studies
Geneva, Switzerland
Post graduate studies, 1973, recipient of Fulbright-Swiss University Fellowship

Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan
B.A., cum laude, 1969

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Languages

French

Estate Planning Attorney

Bob is an estate planning attorney with significant experience in all aspects of estate planning, wealth preservation and planned giving for estates of all sizes. In addition to the design and implementation of sophisticated estate plans, he specializes in sophisticated wealth preservation techniques, succession planning, probate and trust administration, gift and estate tax audits and appeals, and estate-related claims and litigation. 

Bob has unique expertise in charitable and planned giving techniques, helping clients meet their objectives with maximum tax benefit.

Experience

Ultra-high net worth client’s estate plan left vast sums to trusts for children, with little likelihood they would ever need much of the money.  Client was receptive to the idea of creating charitable gift annuities for the children, to provide a lifetime stream of distributions, with relatively small discretionary trusts as a backstop.  The resulting plan saved the client substantial estate taxes and provided amply for the children.

Converted private, perpetual foundation to spend-down, allowing the client more control over governance and avoiding mission shift. 

Successfully implemented sophisticated wealth transfer techniques including self-cancelling installment note (SCIN), initially removing over $5 million n value from the client’s estate. Over time, the amount removed from the taxable estate has increased many times, due to appreciation.

Effectively employed postmortem planning techniques and obtained favorable IRS Private Letter Ruling, to reverse effects of poor planning by decedent’s attorney, saving over the client $300,000 in estate taxes.

Recommended and implemented reallocation of personal injury award between decedent’s estate and family members, saving family members over $250,000 in estate taxes.

Implemented charitable trust for client owning a large concentration of highly appreciated publicly-traded stock, permitting him to diversify his holding into mutual funds without triggering capital gains, significantly increase his lifetime income, and receive charitable income tax deduction. 

Honors and Recognitions

Fellow, American College of Trust & Estate Counsel (ACTEC)

Best Lawyers in America®, Trusts and Estates, since 2009

Best Lawyers in America®Lawyer of the Year, Trusts and Estates (Detroit), 2015, 2022

Michigan Super Lawyers, since 2006

Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

Planned Giving Roundtable of Southeast Michigan, past chairman of LEAVE A LEGACY® Southeast Michigan’s Speaker’s Bureau

Community Involvement

Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Professional Advisory Committee

Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Foundation, Professional Advisory Committee

Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Professional Advisory Committee

Detroit Institute of Arts, Professional Advisory Committee

Timothy D. Kroninger

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, Michigan
J.D., summa cum laude, 2019 
Michigan State Law Review, Managing Editor

Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, with high honors, 2014

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

United States Patent and Trademark Office

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Intellectual Property and Franchise Attorney

Tim (“Tim Kroninger, Jr.”) is a registered patent attorney, trademark and brand protection and enforcement specialist, and member of Varnum’s Intellectual Property Team. His practice focuses on all aspects of strategically counseling and assisting clients with the protection and enforcement of their intellectual property assets, including trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets.

Tim has experience providing strategic counsel on the availability and adoption of client trademarks and obtaining domestic and international trademark protection. He also regularly represents clients in trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) and negotiates and drafts trademark consent, co-existence, and licensing agreements. On the patent prosecution side, Tim is experienced in providing prior art analyses and protecting innovations in the mechanical, biological, and chemical arts from a variety of industries, including the automotive, agricultural, and healthcare sectors.

Tim’s practice also encompasses advising clients on false advertising law, unfair competition law, and related FTC regulations, including the FTC’s Green Guides and rules for influencers and social media endorsements. He is also knowledgeable in franchise law and drafting a variety of commercial agreements and licenses, especially those involving his clients’ intellectual property assets.

Tim serves as the supervising attorney for the University of Detroit Mercy College of Law Trademark and Entrepreneur Clinic, which counsels small businesses and startups on how to best develop and protect their business and intellectual property rights. Tim also regularly presents to law students, small business groups, and entrepreneur associations on the basics of intellectual property law.

Honors and Recognitions

Detroit Bar Association Pro Bono Awardee, 2021

State Bar of Michigan Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2020-2022

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association

Detroit Bar Association

Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association

State Bar of Michigan: Intellectual Property Law Section; Antitrust, Franchising & Trade Regulation Section

Community Involvement

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law: Trademark and Entrepreneur Clinic, Supervising Attorney

Presentations

State Bar of Michigan – Antitrust, Franchising, & Trade Regulation Section, speaker, “Intellectual Property and Franchising: Who Should Care and Why?” May 16, 2024

Michigan State University Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, “Introduction to Intellectual Property,” November 15, 2023

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, “Introduction to Trademark Law,” November 17, 2022

Osborn Business Association, “Intellectual Property for Small Business and Startups,” Summer 2021, Fall 2021

Judge – Michigan State University College of Law, 1L Advocacy Competition, 2020

Matthew M. Shina

Practice Areas

Education

University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
J.D., cum laude, 2021

Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan
B.A., summa cum laude, Economics, 2016

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Languages

Aramaic

Spanish

Finance and Corporate Attorney

Matt is a member of the firm’s Banking and Finance Practice Team. He has extensive experience representing a diverse range of clients in finance related matters, including financial institutions, borrowers, agents, sponsors, and investors. His experience spans a wide range of financing transactions, such as bilateral loan transactions, syndicated financings, asset-based lending facilities, real estate financings, secured and unsecured credit facilities, first lien/second lien credit facilities, mezzanine financings, and acquisition financings.

In addition to his finance practice, Matt collaborates with the firm’s Corporate Team. He provides advice on numerous corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, startup and entity formation, capital fundraising and investment, and general commercial contract matters.

Matt was a Dean’s Scholarship recipient while attending the University of Michigan Law School. He served as a student attorney for the Law School’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, where he represented clients on a variety of tax issues before the IRS. He also received a Best Drafting Skills award in the Law School’s annual transactional law competition.

Experience

Represented a national lender in a $50 million financing transaction involving a revolving loan facility.

Represented the borrower in a $15 million financing transaction involving a revolving loan facility.

Represented the lead lender in a multi-bank acquisition financing transaction, encompassing senior and subordinated positions.

Represented the buyer in the acquisition of a privately-owned garage storage manufacturer.

Represented the seller in the sale of a privately-owned real estate leasing platform.

Represented the seller in the sale of a privately-owned title insurance company.

Professional Affiliations

Association for Corporate Growth, Detroit Chapter

Turnaround Management Association

Risk Management Association – East Michigan, Board member

State Bar of Michigan

Community Involvement

Kalasho Education & Youth Services, Board member

Jacob R. Whately

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

New York University School of Law
New York, New York
LL.M., Taxation, 2017

University of Toledo College of Law
Toledo, Ohio
J.D., magna cum laude, 2016

University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
B.A., magna cum laude, 2013

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Ohio

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Corporate and Tax Attorney

Jake is a member of Varnum’s Business and Corporate Services Team with a focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), representing both buyers and sellers in complex and strategic investment transactions.

Jake assists clients in various industries with general corporate matters, including corporate governance, nondisclosure agreements, general contract matters, business formations, restructurings and dissolutions, disputes with customers and suppliers (including Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers), terms and conditions analysis and other matters.

Jake is also a member of Varnum’s Venture Capital and Emerging Companies practice team and advises emerging companies on capital fundraising, including SAFE financing, preferred equity financing and securities law compliance.

In addition to his law degree, Jake holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in taxation and has experience in the areas of U.S. federal corporate taxation and assisting in advising clients on the tax aspects of complex transactions including tax structuring, tax modeling, and other transaction-related tax services.

Experience

Representation of a leading provider of artificial intelligence-based surveillance audit platforms in connection with a $1.5 million pre-seed SAFE capital raise.

Representation of a cloud-based intelligence platform in connection with its sale to a leading enterprise insights management SaaS platform.

Representation of a real estate investment platform in connection with a $8.25 million Series A capital round.

Representation of a mobility tech company in connection with its sale to a global digital agency.

Representation of a financial wellness software company in connection with a $2.6 million capital raise.

Representation of a content engagement provider in connection with its sale to a premier provider of products and services for the life sciences industry.

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan: Taxation Section

Ohio State Bar Association