Five Bodman PLC Grand Rapids Attorneys Honored by The Best Lawyers in America
08/31/21
Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that five attorneys based in the firm’s Grand Rapids office – Lindsay M. Cummings, Brian E. Kersey, Wayne D. Roberts, Matthew R. Smith, and Carrie E. Trimpe – have been honored by the publisher of the highly respected journal The Best Lawyers in America.
Kersey and Roberts are listed as leaders in their areas of practice in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Cummings, Smith and Trimpe are listed as leaders in their areas of practice in the 2022 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, which is reserved for outstanding lawyers who are early in their careers. Lawyers are selected for these honors through an extensive peer review process focusing on their professional expertise, client service skills, and an authentication process to verify that they are currently in practice and in good standing.
In addition, Roberts has been named the Best Lawyers in America 2022 Grand Rapids Lawyer of the Year for Litigation and Controversy – Tax. The Lawyer of the Year designation reflects a lawyer who has received an unusually strong peer endorsement in the annual review process. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the Lawyer of the Year, making the accolade highly significant.
Cummings is listed in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch under Trusts and Estates. She represents individuals in connection with estate planning and estate administration matters including trusts, wills, powers of attorney, guardianships, conservatorships, and trust and probate administration. She also has experience assisting clients with matters involving real estate law and general business law. Cummings has served as a visiting professor with Western Michigan University Cooley Law School where she taught contracts and as an adjunct professor where she taught estate planning.
Kersey is listed in The Best Lawyers in America under Banking and Finance. His legal practice is focused on commercial finance matters and aviation law. His commercial finance practice includes extensive experience representing both lenders and borrowers in syndicated loan facilities, secured and unsecured term loans (including equipment finance) and revolving credit facilities, and real estate and construction lending. His aviation law practice encompasses aircraft purchases and sales, regulatory compliance, risk management, Part 91 and Part 135 operations, and management and leasing arrangements for aircraft and hangar space.
Roberts is listed in The Best Lawyers in America under Tax Law and Litigation and Controversy-Tax. His practice is focused on corporate, business, and individual tax planning and federal, state, and local tax controversies. Roberts maintains a broad tax practice which includes all aspects of federal and state tax planning, structuring, and tax litigation. He has represented both closely-held and publicly traded companies in transactional tax matters, including mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations and dispositions. He has also represented businesses and individuals in tax disputes with the IRS and with various state authorities. Roberts currently chairs the Michigan Chamber of Commerce’s Tax Committee.
Smith is listed in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch under Banking and Finance Law. Before joining Bodman in June 2021 he practiced in the Finance Practice Group of an Am Law 100 firm where he represented institutional and nonbank lenders, financial institutions, and servicers in a broad range of commercial real estate finance transactions, including commercial mortgage loan originations, repurchase and warehouse facilities, and special servicing and master servicing matters. He also practiced in the Global Finance Practice Group of an Am Law 50 firm focusing primarily on collateralized loan obligation securitization transactions.
Trimpe is listed in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch under Trusts and Estates. Her practice is focused on estate planning, including wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, probate and trust administration, probate and trust litigation, and general civil litigation. She develops and drafts estate plans based on client goals and expectations and assists with trust funding and titling issues. She also assists clients with probate and trust administration including probating estates, assisting with the management and administration of trusts, and representing clients in connection with trust and estate disputes. Trimpe also has experience representing business clients, including owners of closely-held family businesses, in corporate law matters.