Brian Masternak

Jon is a commercial litigator with experience in litigation of supply chain disputes, asset purchase agreements, franchise agreements, and other business related litigation. Jon also has a substantial practice in securities dispute, including litigation and arbitration of securities and investor disputes, in which he has successfully represented investors and broker-dealers. His experience on sophisticated matters includes bringing cases to summary judgment, trial, and courts of appeal. Jon i...

Jon G. March is a former Managing Member of the Firm. He is an experienced trial lawyer handling a wide variety of employment, commercial, construction, and general civil litigation. In addition to his trial practice, he is an experienced facilitative mediator and has successfully mediated to settlement hundreds of cases involving nearly every substantive area of the law. He completed the Harvard Law School Mediation Workshop in 1998. Mr. March is a Fellow of several distinguished law-related...

Nikole L. Canute’s areas of practice include: labor and employment law, employment litigation, energy litigation, civil litigation, fraud investigation and litigation and securities litigation. She is very skilled in handling employment investigations, electronic discovery and matters involving computer forensic investigations. Nikole also specializes in energy matters, including condemnation. Her experience includes working with local municipal authorities and law enforcement during pr...

Richard (Dick) E. Hillary, II, is a member of Miller Johnson and has been practicing law since 1996. He is a commercial litigator. Mr. Hillary represents a wide variety of business entities and individuals; including hospitals, physician groups, large and small corporations, and individuals in all facets of litigation. Before joining Miller Johnson, Mr. Hillary served as law clerk for the Honorable William B. Murphy of the Michigan Court of Appeals. Health Care Reimbursement Mr. Hillary couns...

Benjamin A. Zainea, a native of Grand Rapids, graduated from Northview High School in 1992. He attended the University of Michigan School of Business Administration, where he served as president of the professional/service fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi and graduated with high distinction in 1996. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1999. Ben specializes in business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, business formation, general business and real estate la...

David T. Caldon is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law, Municipal Law and Real Estate Law. David T., who practices law in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which David T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jeffrey A. Michael is a partner in the firm's Grand Rapids, Michigan, office, and a member of the Intellectual Property and Technology Departments, as well as the Nanotechnology Practice Group. Jeffrey serves corporate and individual clients by obtaining intellectual property protection in the United States and foreign countries and concentrates this portion of his practice primarily in the areas of electrical, electro-mechanical, mechanical, and computer-related inventions. He also counsels ...

Aaron M. Phelps is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - ERISA. Aaron M., who practices law in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Aaron M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jeff chairs Varnum's employee benefits practice group. He has 25 years of experience working with employers, executives and third-party administrators on a wide range of employee benefit, executive compensation and individual retirement matters, including plan design, plan administration, benefit plan disputes and tax planning for retirement. He also helps solve complex tax issues in business and investment transactions, especially those involving pass-through entities and oil and gas activit...

Matt is a member of the Environmental and Energy Practice Groups. A significant portion of Matt’s practice involves representation of municipalities and private developers in regard to water law matters, including: the permitting, operation and expansion of water supply/treatment/distribution systems and wastewater collection and treatment systems; sewer use ordinance drafting and enforcement including industrial pretreatment programs; stormwater management including ordinance drafting,...