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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Katherine M. Szymanski

Practice Areas

Education

Valparaiso University School of Law
Valparaiso, Indiana
J.D., 2013

Aquinas College
Grand Rapids, Michigan
B.A., cum laude, 2010

Bar Admissions

Michigan


Estate Planning Attorney

Katie is a member of the Estate Planning Team. She has significant experience in estate settlement and trust administration matters. She has additional experience working with individuals and families through ongoing estate, tax, and wealth transfer planning for current and future generations. She understands that every client situation is unique, and she strives to help each client reach their goals through specific and tailored estate plans.

Katie’s background also includes review of tax compliance forms and non-traditional asset planning including strategies for real estate, and closely-held business interests. She previously served as a trust officer for a regional accounting firm and holds a Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA®) designation.

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan, Probate and Estate Planning Section

Western Michigan Estate Planning Council – Board of Directors, Next Gen Committee

Honors and Recognitions

Best Lawyers in America®, Ones to Watch, Trust and Estates, since 2024

Community Involvement

USA Gymnastics Judge, 2010 – Present

Michigan NAWGJ, Board of Directors, 2023

Spartan Nash YMCA, Board of Directors, 2016-2021

Presentations

Special Issues with Estate Planning, ICLE, 2023

Estate Planning for Athletes: Top Tips in Ten Minutes, ICLE, 2023

Drafting for Administrative Efficiency, Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal, Summer 2022

Institute of Continuing Legal Education Speaker, 2019

The Notice Trap: Qualified Trust Beneficiaries of Irrevocable Trusts, 2022

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Cathy M. Greer

Practice Areas

Industries

Paralegal/eDiscovery Specialist

Cathy works with the Litigation and Trial Services Team and has extensive experience in all aspects of complex commercial litigation matters. She focuses her attention on the implementation of litigation support technology throughout the litigation process including electronic discovery, complex document management and trial presentation/assistance.

Cathy also manages the firm’s eDiscovery Department including data collection, processing, analytics, workflow review, document review/analysis, production of data, training and legal compliance. As part of the eDiscovery Department, Cathy helps support and guide the litigation teams in the eDiscovery process implementing best practices to maintain the highest standards of quality and accuracy.  She is experienced and very knowledgeable working in RelativityOne, the firm’s eDiscovery software.

Cathy’s experience includes assisting with various elements of case workup such as investigation, research, discovery and exhibits. In addition, she prepares court pleadings such as interrogatories, discovery responses, answers to complaints, motions and briefs. She has extensive legal and technical research experience including preparation of research memoranda.

Professional Affiliations

Grand Rapids Bar Association, Legal Assistant Section

State Bar of Michigan, Legal Assistant Section

Spectrum Health Oncology, PFAC board member

Notary Public

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Maryanne S. Poll

Practice Areas

Education

Davenport University
Grand Rapids, Michigan
B.S., Paralegal Studies, 2012

 

Paralegal

Maryanne serves as a real estate paralegal working on matters with attorneys within several practice groups. She prepares a wide variety of real estate related documents and is involved with title work and survey matters. Maryanne also has experience with litigation related matters such as drafting pleadings, discovery, and offering general litigation assistance.

Community Involvement

 Lakewood Youth Football Board of Directors, Treasurer

 

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Lauren M. Parker

Practice Areas

Education

University of Wisconsin Law School
Madison, Wisconsin
J.D., cum laude, 2021
Wisconsin Law Review, Managing Editor

Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
Honors College
B.A., magna cum laude, Finance, 2018

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Wisconsin

Corporate Attorney

Lauren is a member of Varnum’s Business and Corporate Team, where her focus is in business and transactional work with a strong emphasis on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity, and other commercial transactions. Lauren has experience advising clients on the legal aspects of day-to-day business issues and a wide variety of other matters, with particular expertise in securities law matters and corporate governance issues. Her client experience ranges from early stage startups to mature, publicly-held businesses of all sizes.

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Michigan

State Bar of Wisconsin

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Gage M. Selvius

Practice Areas

Education

Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, Michigan
J.D., summa cum laude, 2021 
Order of the Coif                   
Michigan State Law Review, Staff

University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
B.A., summa cum laude, Political Science and Economics, 2018

Bar Admissions

Michigan

Litigation Attorney

Gage is an associate attorney on Varnum’s Litigation, Trial Practice, and ADR Team.  He focuses his practice on complex commercial and environmental litigation.  Gage has experience handling large-scale class action lawsuits.  He has litigated cases in a variety of fields, including property disputes, employment issues, environmental tort claims, construction matters, and high-profile multimillion dollar family law cases.  Gage also has had success enforcing and collecting judgments for his clients, including through adversary proceedings in bankruptcy court.

Gage is a skilled legal writer and researcher who has drafted numerous successful dispositive motions to win cases for his clients prior to trial in both state and federal court.  Gage was recently the first-chair attorney in a matter in which he secured an approximately $3 million judgment for his client.  He passionately advocates for clients throughout the litigation process, and has experience handling depositions, discovery, hearings, trials, and appellate proceedings.  In addition to Michigan, Gage has litigated matters in Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Gage graduated summa cum laude from both the University of Alabama and the Michigan State University School of Law.  During law school, he was a member of the flagship law review at Michigan State University.  Gage served as a law clerk for the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Michigan before joining Varnum, which provided an opportunity for him to be extensively involved in federal court proceedings early in his career.

Experience

Successfully obtained summary disposition in defense of a products liability claim for a multi-national corporation.

Successfully obtained summary disposition in an environmental tort claim in Allegan County.

Successfully obtained summary disposition in defense of a construction dispute in Kalamazoo County.

Successfully obtained an injunction in federal court to protect his client’s business against unfair competition.

As lead counsel, successfully secured an approximately $3 million judgment in a case involving business tort claims.

As lead trial counsel, won a bench trial in Oakland County in a property dispute.

As lead trial counsel, successfully defended against over $300,000 of alleged damages in a bench trial in Ottawa County.

Negotiated a settlement in excess of a million dollars on a breach of contract claim.

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association

State Bar of Michigan

Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Michigan

Grand Rapids Bar Association

Hillman Advocacy Clinic – United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, 2022

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