Carolyn M. H. Sullivan

Sullivan Carolyn Bw Web

Practice Areas

Education

Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, Michigan
J.D., magna cum laude, 2020
Michigan State Law Review, Executive Editor

Grand Valley State University, Frederik Meijer Honors College
Allendale, Michigan
B.A., English, 2016

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Labor and Employment Attorney

Carolyn is an experienced labor and employment attorney whose practice focuses on compliance with federal and state labor and employment laws and other workplace matters. She provides counsel on a wide range of matters including effective employee handbooks and policies, discrimination, ADA compliance, sexual harassment, MIOSHA, and wage-hour issues. She litigates and defends employers in federal and state courts, as well as on administrative charges, including unemployment and EEOC matters.

Carolyn has additional experience counseling on employee benefit plans, including 401(k) plans and Section 125 Cafeteria Plans.

In addition to her client work, Carolyn is a frequent contributor to labor and employment industry publications.

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association

State Bar of Michigan

Grand Rapids Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section – Treasurer

Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Programming Committee, Historic Preservation Committee

Community Involvement

Habitat for Humanity of Kent County, Board of Directors

Presentations

Annual EEO Case Law Update, State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Midwinter Meeting, contributor, 2020

Understanding Mandatory Reporting Requirements for Amateur Sports Organizations and College Athletic Programs, ABA State and Local Government Law Section, October 2021

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Matthew J. Bailey

Practice Areas

Education

Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, Michigan
J.D., cum laude, 2014

Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
B.A., Business Administration, 2011

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Family Law Attorney

Matthew is an experienced family law attorney with a background in litigation and appellate law. He counsels clients in divorce, custody, termination of parental rights and guardianship matters. He is a skillful negotiator with extensive experience mediating creative solutions for clients.

In addition to his private practice experience, Matthew formerly served the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance for Michigan State University, representing respondents under the jurisdiction of the school’s Policy on Relationship Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors. He conducted evidentiary hearings pertaining to alleged violations of sexual assault and misconduct and was retained by the Office of Institutional Equality to litigate contested claims.

Following law school, Matthew served a clerkship with the Michigan Court of Appeals for the Honorable Stephen Borrello. He  served as an extern for the Eaton County Prosecutor’s Office while earning his law degree.

Experience

Secured entry of an order awarding a change of domicile to a client escaping a toxic and potentially dangerous environment.

Successfully challenged an opposing party’s pursuit of a change of custody after years of exercising joint custody without incident.

Defended a client against a petition to terminate a guardship originating from shortly after the child’s birth and now continuing into the child’s early adolescence.

Obtained a change of custody for a client after demonstrating a resilient effort to strengthen the bond between parent and child over the course of several years.

Professional Affiliations

Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) Family Law Advisory Board Member, 2022 – present

State Bar of Michigan

Ingham County Bar Association, Family Law Section

Ingham County Young Lawyers Society

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Kevin F. Patterson

Kevin Patterson

Education

Texas A&M Commerce
Commerce, Texas
M.S. Information Technology

Texas A&M Commerce
Commerce, Texas
Bachelor of Applied Arts & Science

Director of Technology

Kevin is a solutions-driven professional with more than 20 years of law firm information technology experience. He leads the strategy and implementation of technology initiatives for the firm, improving technical operations and streamlining processes as well as leading and mentoring the firm’s technical staff.

Kevin’s experience includes serving as global portfolio manager at an international law firm, where he directed and managed the teams, business processes and functions for IT platforms and applications for 77 offices. He has additionally served as an IT manager and consultant for a boutique training and consulting organization and as regional IT manager for a national network infrastructure provider.

Certifications

Project Management Professional (PMP)

ITIL V4 Foundation Certified

DevOps Certified

CompTIA Security Infrastructure Specialist (CSIS)

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Conor J. Boland

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

University of Notre Dame Law School
Notre Dame, Indiana
J.D., magna cum laude, 2022
Notre Dame Journal of Legislation, Staff Editor

Catholic University of America
Washington, D.C.
B.A., summa cum laude, 2017

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

Corporate Attorney

Conor is a business and corporate attorney who advises emerging companies, private and family-owned businesses and private equity funds. He provides strategic and practical legal advice to clients on a myriad of business law issues, including general corporate counseling, mergers and acquisitions and regulatory compliance. He helps clients through the entire lifecycle of their businesses, from the formation stage to ultimate exit—and all the day-to-day legal issues that arise in between.

Conor particularly focuses his practice on advising emerging companies and corporate governance counseling, where he draws on his experience as an extern at the Delaware Court of Chancery while at Notre Dame. He regularly advises emerging companies on formation issues, capital raising (including equity financing, convertible debt financing and SAFE financing), and general governance issues. As part of his emerging companies practice, he also counsels clients on securities law compliance. In his corporate governance counseling practice, Conor frequently helps corporations, officers, directors and stockholders of Michigan entities navigate an often complex and ambiguous array of Michigan law—including relating to stockholder demand letters, breach of fiduciary duty claims, controlling stockholder transactions, minority stockholder oppression claims, special committee issues and activist stockholders campaigns.

Professional Affiliations

Grand Rapids Bar Association

State Bar of Michigan

State Bar of Michigan: Business Law Section

Community Involvement

Notre Dame Club of Grand Rapids

 

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Elizabeth M. Kuperus

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
J.D., 2022

University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
B.A. summa cum laude, 2019

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan State Courts

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Immigration and Agriculture Attorney

Liz is a member of the Corporate Practice Team. She focuses her practice primarily on immigration and agriculture. In her immigration practice, she handles nonimmigrant petitions, both employment- and family-based permanent residence applications, and citizenship matters. She assists with visas for extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, athletics, and business, as well as petitions for multinational managers and executives. Liz has particular expertise assisting with temporary agricultural (H-2A) and nonagricultural (H-2B) nonimmigrant visas. In addition, Liz assists with various visa issues, including expatriation and foreign visa issues along with worker verification issues, Form I-9 audits, USICE compliance investigations and civil and criminal charges.

In her agriculture work, Liz utilizes her background in the industry in assisting clients with all matters related to agriculture, including corporate, co-op, taxation, H-2A immigration, and employment. In partnership with the Michigan Farm Bureau, Liz supports the Agricultural Employment Compliance Guide, an easy-to-use guide for farm employers trying to keep up with sometimes overwhelmingly complex federal and state employment laws. In addition to providing timely updates, Liz delivers in-person employment seminars each year to agricultural employers across the state.

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

American Agricultural Law Association

American Immigration Lawyers Association

National Council of Agricultural Employers

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Lindsae N. Badgerow

Badgerowlindsae Web

Education

Grand Valley State University
Allendale, Michigan
B.S., Legal Studies with minor in Criminal Justice, 2007

Director of Legal Recruiting and Professional Development

Lindsae is a recruiting and human resource professional with more than ten years of experience in the legal industry, including at AmLaw 100 and professional legal recruiting firms. She has extensive experience managing and facilitating all aspects of the lateral attorney and law student recruitment and hiring process.

In her role, Lindsae is responsible for all lateral attorney recruiting and retention efforts across Varnum’s six offices as well as managing the firm’s attorney professional development initiatives. She is also responsible for managing all aspects of the firm’s law student hiring process and leading the firm’s summer associate program.

Lindsae is a member of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) and has served in various leadership roles for the organization, most recently serving as a Regional Representative for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Prior to entering the recruiting profession, Lindsae spent time as a litigation paralegal.

Professional Affiliations

National Association for Law Placement, Regional Representative for Mid-Atlantic Region, 2021-2023; Recruiting Section Chair, 2020-2021

Legal Recruitment Administrators of Philadelphia, 2014-2022

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Amy L. Baddley

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

Vanderbilt Law School
Nashville, Tennessee
J.D., 2022
Vanderbilt Law Review, Articles Editor
Order of the Coif

Bethel University
Mishawaka, Indiana
B.A., English, 2014

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Data Privacy Attorney

Amy is a sophisticated data privacy attorney, specializing in the advanced mobility industry. Certified with CIPP/US credentials, she designs and implements comprehensive privacy compliance programs for companies of all sizes. Her expertise extends to advising major autonomous, electric, and connected vehicle companies on privacy matters, and navigating byzantine regulatory requirements to facilitate the development of innovative mobility ventures.

Amy also brings significant practical experience to the table, having served as lead privacy counsel during her secondment at a prominent electric vehicle manufacturer. In this capacity, she played a crucial role in shaping the organization’s privacy landscape and adeptly identified privacy implications in new business ventures.

In addition to her contributions in privacy and mobility, Amy provides advisory services in healthcare regulatory matters, focusing on entity organization, practitioner licensure, and HIPAA compliance.

Prior to law school, Amy served as a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives where she drafted a law that was enacted by President Obama in 2016 and advised on transportation, healthcare, tax, and budget legislation. She also worked in government relations on behalf of a cloud-based healthcare technology company in Boston, Massachusetts, on matters relating to data privacy and interoperability. She served as a summer associate at the American Enterprise Institute and interned at the U.S. Department of State.

Certifications

CIPP/US, certified information privacy professional 2022 – present

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

International Association of Privacy Professionals

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Michael A. Stroup

Practice Areas

Education

Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Bloomington, Indiana
J.D., 2019
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, Notes Editor

Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan
B.S., summa cum laude, 2016

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Real Estate Attorney

Mike is a member of Varnum’s Real Estate Practice Team. He regularly assists clients with all stages of real estate sales and acquisitions from negotiating letters of intent and purchase agreements, to conducting title and survey diligence, to facilitating closing. Mike also represents landlords and tenants in negotiating retail, office, and industrial leases, and he supports developers and municipalities through planning and zoning of new construction and redevelopment projects.

In addition, Mike has experience representing developers and landowners in connection with renewable energy and cell tower projects.

Experience

Represented premier Detroit real estate development and investment company in negotiating office and retail lease and construction agreements throughout Detroit and Cleveland.

Represented national grocery retailer in acquiring land and developing new stores across several states.

Represented various solar energy developers in negotiating easements and leases across Michigan in connection with new energy installations.

Represented family of national cannabis manufacturing and retail companies in negotiating leases across several states.

Represented Michigan professional sports organization in acquiring property for expansion of business.

Represented West Michigan-based logistics company in the purchase and leaseback of industrial headquarters.

Represented non-profit organizations and individuals across the United States in selling existing cell tower lease interests to national cell tower infrastructure businesses.

Represented Chicago-based automotive collision chain in selling multiple shops to a national auto body and glass repair company.

Represented international energy conglomerate in establishing its flagship US-based solar energy development.

Represented estate of commercial real estate investor in divesting portfolio of retail and office properties across Southeast Michigan.

Professional Affiliations

 State Bar of Michigan

Grand Rapids Bar Association

Community Involvement

Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, Emerging Leaders Series, 2021

Publications

“Draining the Flooded Markets: Tariffs, Suniva & Solar Energy Investment,” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, Vol. 26, Issue 1, 2019.

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Neil E. Youngdahl

Practice Areas

Clerkships

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Honorable Richard Allen Griffin

United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Michigan,
Honorable Sean F. Cox

Education

University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
J.D., 2017
Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law, Articles Editor

Alma College
Alma, Michigan
B.A. summa cum laude, 2015

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Court Admissions

All Michigan state courts

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Litigation Attorney

Neil Youngdahl is a litigation attorney who focuses on commercial disputes, appeals, and cases in federal court. As a former federal law clerk at both the trial and appellate level, Neil assisted his judges in resolving hundreds of cases, ranging from months-long criminal RICO trials, to multimillion-dollar trademark disputes, to petitions for judicial review of agency action that raised significant constitutional questions. This experience provided Neil with unique insight into how judges decide cases. Neil now uses this knowledge to advocate for his clients and to guide them through all aspects of litigation.

Neil specializes in appeals, and regularly represents clients at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Michigan Court of Appeals. On appeal, Neil has argued questions of first impression regarding the proper interpretation of federal and state statutes, multimillion-dollar commercial disputes, and labor disputes involving federal agencies and multi-employer pension funds. Neil often takes his appeals without having handled the underlying proceedings, which allows him to offer a fresh perspective on the case, along with his expertise on appellate procedure and advocacy.

Neil also maintains an active labor practice, with a specific emphasis on representing construction companies who have been sued by multi-employer fringe-benefit funds for alleged unpaid contributions. Neil has reached favorable resolutions for his clients in these cases. Neil’s labor practice also includes litigating petitions for judicial review of orders issued by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”).

Neil graduated from Alma College, summa cum laude, and from the University of Michigan Law School.  After graduating law school, Neil clerked for the Honorable Sean F. Cox of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (2018-2020) and for the Honorable Richard Allen Griffin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2020-2022). During law school, Neil interned for the Honorable Robert Holmes Bell of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan and for the Honorable Joan Larsen of the Michigan Supreme Court. He also served as an Articles Editor of the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law.

Neil is the Chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Michigan. Neil also mentors students at Alma College who are interested in pursuing a career in law.

Experience

As lead appellate counsel, obtained injunctive relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in favor of plaintiff seeking to recover its stolen Van Gogh painting.

Obtained dismissal of a multi-employer pension fund’s claim for unpaid contributions, along with a six-figure settlement from the fund in favor of a construction company.

Obtained dismissal of civil RICO claims against a municipality.

Professional Affiliations

 State Bar of Michigan

 

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Jessica E. Visser

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

University of Toledo College of Law
Toledo, Ohio
J.D., cum laude, 2012

University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
B.S., Paralegal Studies, summa cum laude, 2009

Bar Admissions

Michigan
Ohio

 

Corporate and Higher Education Attorney

Jessica is a member of the Corporate Practice Team and co-chair of the firm’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Practice. As former associate general counsel for a major university, Jessica regularly negotiated significant contracts including spearheading the disposition and lease of university property and supporting a multimillion-dollar concession agreement for the university’s parking system. She counseled the university athletic department on NIL matters, NCAA compliance, and strategic negotiation of coach contracts. She is experienced in Title IX and disability matters, including a variety of other student-related issues. 

Within her NIL practice, Jessica regularly drafts and negotiates agreements related to NIL marketing, licensing, promotional engagements and ambassador agreements on behalf of brands, NIL collectives, companies and individual boosters. She has provided education and training programs on the formation of NIL collectives at the university level as well as training on university NIL compliance in general.

Jessica formerly served the U.S. Department of Defense as a contracting officer, negotiating multimillion-dollar contract actions with major aircraft manufacturers. She represented the U.S. Air Force in contract work involving the procurement of innovative weapon and surveillance systems.

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

Ohio State Bar Association

 

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