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Miller Canfield Lawyers to Discuss Emergency Manager Laws at ABA State and Local Government Section Meeting

August 2, 2013

Miller Canfield senior counsel Steven F. Stapleton and CEO Michael P. McGee, a longtime member of the firm’s highly rated Public Finance Group, will participate in a panel discussion as a moderator and panelist, respectively, on “Emergency Manager Laws as an Alternative to Bankruptcy in Local Government,” at the American Bar Association (ABA) State and Local Government Law Section’s annual meeting, August 10 in San Francisco, Calif. 

The session will focus on Michigan’s use of emergency managers and the options available to a distressed municipality, the anticipated legal challenges, and practical experiences of an Emergency Manager. The panel includes Michigan’s state treasurer, Andy Dillon. 

Stapleton resides in Miller Canfield’s Grand Rapids, Mich. office. He has extensive experience in commercial litigation, including complex breach of contract claims, business disputes, municipal litigation, condemnation actions and employment litigation. He has served as a city attorney and has represented numerous West Michigan communities. He has tried cases before both state and federal courts and successfully argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals and both the Michigan Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court. He represents clients in arbitrations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. He received his B.A. from Grand Valley State University and J.D., cum laude, from the University of Detroit.

Prior to becoming Miller Canfield’s CEO in April, McGee was integral to the firm’s Public Finance Group, with nearly three decades of public policy experience and primary responsibility for general obligation and revenue bond issues amounting to more than $3.5 billion. He played a major role in the drafting of Michigan’s emergency management law and before becoming CEO, he represented several municipalities operating under emergency management, including Detroit. He recently served as a panelist on “Local-Government Oversight” at The Bond Buyer’s 2nd Annual Symposium on Distressed Municipalities. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, M.P.P. from the Institute (now Ford School) of Public Policy Studies, and an A.B. from the University of Michigan, with an emphasis on economic analysis