Displaying items tagged: Warner Norcross & Judd LLP

Michigan’s cannabis industry is coming off a record-setting month with $128 billion in recreational sales in October, and industry leaders expect the state’s market to further mature in 2022.

Businesses that employ 100 or more people will have to either require workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine or get tested weekly beginning Jan. 4, the Biden administration has announced.

Federal legislation advancing through Congress this session could lead to more banks serving marijuana-related businesses in the U.S. and Michigan.

This is the MiBiz Growth Report for April 11, 2021.

ROCKFORD — The owner of prime downtown property along the Rogue River is suing city officials over “unlawful, discriminatory, unreasonable and confiscatory zoning practices” that are allegedly preventing successful developments there.

As the economy abruptly ground to a halt last spring under COVID-19 restrictions, Jeff Ott stayed busy.

Employees at Trendway Corp. have a reason to be skeptical about suspicious emails that show up in their inboxes.

The $15 million Sturgis Bancorp Inc. raised through a debt offering will go to support further growth across Southwestern Michigan.

Securities regulators hope a change in the federal definition of accredited investors brings more people into the investor pool for startups and other companies seeking private capital, although it remains unclear whether it will significantly affect the flow of capital.

Last year, Michigan became the 37th state requiring attorneys to maintain ethical competence in technology, signaling the growing role of artificial intelligence in the legal sector.

In the wake of COVID-19, litigation is on the rise, and with that, escalating costs. Electronic discovery (“eDiscovery”) is often the most expensive component of litigation. As we use more technology in our daily lives – computers, cell phones, email, smart watches, smart home devices, etc., the amount of data we are creating is growing exponentially. When litigation strikes, that data now must be collected, reviewed and potentially produced.

GRAND RAPIDS — BarFly Ventures LLC, the parent company of the HopCat chain of beer bars, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan. 

In mid-2018, executives and directors at Community Shores Bank Corp. began to study “strategic alternatives” to grow the bank.

Governor Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order (EO 2020-21) directs all Michigan businesses and entities to temporarily suspend in-person operations that are not necessary to sustain or protect life. In recent weeks, state and local law enforcement officials have begun to enforce the order against both individuals and businesses by showing up at businesses and asking questions and by stopping employees and others in transit and inquiring about the purpose or legitimacy of the person’s travel. Below is a list of best practices to keep in mind if you encounter law enforcement officials.

The ritual of public companies hosting their annual shareholders meeting will start again in the coming weeks. 

Small businesses that have been slammed by the coronavirus pandemic and expect to have difficulty making commercial loan payments should call their bankers now to work out possible adjustments.

Most people don’t anticipate an inheritance dispute in their family, but when it happens, it can destroy family relationships. There are common scenarios that lead to inheritance disputes. David Skidmore and Laura Morris are probate litigation attorneys with Warner Norcross + Judd, and they represent individuals and families in inheritance disputes across the state of Michigan. With this article, they share lessons learned from their past cases and ways to avoid inheritance disputes in your family.

Here is the MiBiz growth report for March 1, 2020.

GRAND RAPIDS — Charter Capital Partners represented Hancock-based Keweenaw Financial Corp., the parent company of Superior National Bank & Trust, in the $42 million acquisition of North Star Financial Holdings Inc.

SPARTA — Five months after closing one acquisition, ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. now plans to do another.

Conner McClain and his business partner at In Between Dreams LLC plan to open an indoor growing facility for medical marijuana early next year in Vicksburg.

Construction and development professionals in West Michigan remain optimistic as they look toward 2020, even though the upcoming presidential election and ongoing talent issues are causing headwinds. While some markets might slightly change next year, industry experts who spoke with MiBiz during a recent executive roundtable said they are interested to see how downtown Grand Rapids developments will spark additional new projects. Many also noted that collaboration and partnerships are becoming key to the industry’s success.

GRAND RAPIDS — CWD Real Estate Investment Inc. want to reshape a key downtown corridor with more retail users, including storefronts and restaurants.

MiBiz presents the 7th Annual M&A Deals & Dealmakers Awards, our yearly spotlight of best practices and excellence related to mergers, acquisitions, capital formation and other types of dealmaking throughout West Michigan. 

An emphasis on shared family values and the promise of continued investment and growth made last year’s sale of privately-owned Structural Concepts Corp. to private equity firm Mason Wells a “very friendly, reasonably smooth deal all the way along.”

On the heels of a range of downtown developments coming online in recent years, Orion Real Estate Solutions saw further demand for Class A office space in Grand Rapids. 

The Grand Rapids-based law firm Warner Norcross + Judd LLP has spent more than a decade as the U.S. counsel for Canada and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority as it went through the arduous procurement process to build the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

Operating a family-owned business comes with unique circumstances and considerations that other companies and corporations don’t face. 

SPARTA — ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. remains open to further acquisitions after the $89 million deal with Lapeer-based County Bank Corp. is completed next year.

SPARTA — ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc.’s merger with Lapeer-based County Bank Corp. easily earned shareholder approvals this morning and now heads to a close next spring.