Miller Canfield Adds Leading Lawyers to Real Estate and Litigation Practices
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. announces it is adding two leading attorneys, one in litigation and one in real estate development, to its Ann Arbor office. Prominent litigator Thomas C. O’Brien joins the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group as senior counsel after more than 30 years in private practice in Ann Arbor; and 30-year veteran real estate lawyer Stephen G. Palms rejoins the firm as senior counsel after a hiatus as executive vice president and general counsel of Ann Arbor-based real estate company, McKinley, Inc.
“With over 60 years’ combined experience, Tom O'Brien and Steve Palms bring extensive knowledge and legal experience to the firm,” said Thomas W. Linn, CEO of Miller Canfield. “Tom has substantial courtroom experience and a long-standing reputation for abundant trial skills and for winning civil litigation and white-collar crime cases. Steve has a total understanding of all aspects of real estate law and has successfully handled complex real estate transactions on behalf of many well-known companies around the country. Both are tremendous negotiators and client advocates.”
Most recently, O’Brien was the principal of O’Brien Law Firm, PLC in Ann Arbor where he focused on civil litigation and criminal defense. He is a senior faculty member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and Washtenaw County Bar Association. He received his J.D. from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and his B.S. from Eastern Michigan University. He resides in Ann Arbor.
Palms practices commercial real estate law representing owners, developers, lenders, and tenants in all aspects of office, retail, light industrial and residential projects. He first joined the firm in 1976 and left in 2004 to join McKinley. He is a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan and Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, chairs the board of directors of the Oakland Community College Foundation and is a member of the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America, Detroit Area Council. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, magna cum laude, and received an A.B., with honors in history, from the University of Michigan. He resides in Ann Arbor.
The 350-attorney law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. was established in Detroit in 1852 and has offices in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Howell, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Monroe, Saginaw, and Troy, Michigan. Other offices are located in New York City, Naples and Pensacola, Florida, Windsor, Ontario, and in Gdynia, Warsaw, and Wroclaw, Poland.