- DivorceCivil and Commercial Litigation; Real Estate Litigation; Personal Injury; No-Fault; Wrongful Death; Fire Loss; Worker’s Compensation; Social Security Disability; Divorce and Family Law; Wills, Trusts & Estates; Automobile Accidents; Insurance Law.
- Child SupportJoe specializes in all aspects of family law, including divorce, custody, parenting time and child support, business law, estate planning, probate and criminal law.
- Child Custody and VisitationFamily law is the area of law that deals with family relations. Family law includes many issues including divorce, child custody and support, parenting time, spousal support, separation agreements (pre-nuptial and post-nuptial), and division of marital estate.
- Paternity
- GuardianshipIn the past, Michael had been actively involved with the Kalamazoo County Bar Association Board of Directors; Michigan Guardianship Association; Kalamazoo County Consortium; Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Advisory Board; Friends of Historic East Campus; and Kalamazoo County Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Committee.
- Spousal Support
- Criminal DefenseWesley primarily specializes in Criminal and Family Law, as well as civil litigation. He has experience in a plethora of areas from divorce and custody hearings to criminal matters and Bankruptcy. He has presented cases in all counties of West Michigan.
- DUI/DWIIf you have broken the law or have been arrested for a crime, you need to make sure that your rights are protected and don’t face charges higher than the crime. We work hard to minimize your charges, help keep you out of jail and prevent excessive fines. If you have been charged with drunk driving or another traffic-related offense, we can help you prevent losing your license. We know that criminal charges can affect your ability to work, your financial security and the stability of your family. We will use our experience to help minimize the impact of criminal charges on those facets of your life. We can help you with successfully restoring your driver’s license, even if was revoked after multiple drinking and driving offenses.
- Wrongful Death
- Traffic Violations
- Corporate LawKimberly Swinehart is an associate attorney at Lewis, Reed & Allen. Kim practices in the areas of corporate law, real… View details
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Business DisputesBusiness law covers a wide spectrum of services to businesses and their owners, including advice and counsel about business entity… Read more
- Business TransactionsStaci L. Salisbury joined the firm as a shareholder in 2023. Staci is a 2006 graduate of Western Michigan University and a 2012 graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She is admitted to practice law in the courts of the State of Michigan, the United States Federal District Courts, and Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. She primarily focuses her practice on business transactions, creditor’s rights, estate planning, probate, and litigation.
- Limited Liability CompaniesVern specializes in tax and business law. He handles tax controversies at the IRS and Michigan Department of Treasury on behalf of his clients. Such tax matters include, for example, Audits, Appeals, Collection Division Representation, and also Voluntary Offshore Disclosure Program (“foreign financial accounts”) cases at the IRS. Vern’s Business Law practice integrates his significant tax law expertise at both the planning and the implementation stages of a variety of business transactions, involving, for example, closely-held corporations, “S” corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and foreign “hybrid” entities. He also represents and counsels the owners of such entities. Vern is an AV-rated lawyer in the Martindale-Hubbell® lawyer directory, with an Overall Peer Rating of 5.0 out of 5.0. For the past several years Vern has also been listed in “Best Lawyers®” for his expertise in handling tax controversies.
- Construction ContractsJim’s expertise is primarily in real estate, including sale and leasing transactions, condominium developments, zoning and land use law, construction contracts and liens, property tax appeals, real estate litigation, security interests in real estate, historic preservation law, and oil & gas.
- Workers CompensationBefore joining Lewis, Reed and Allen, Ron was for eighteen years a partner in Ryan, Jamieson, Morris, Ryan and Smith, a law firm that was started by his father. Ron performs litigation work in workers’ compensation cases; insurance defense; insurance litigation; personal injury; Automobile Accidents; Personal Injury; No-Fault; Wills, Trusts & Estates; Social Security Disability; and commercial and civil litigation. He also is frequently retained by local clients to perform commercial and civil litigation services in Chicago, Illinois and in other states. Ron is a member of the Kalamazoo County Bar Association, and the State Bars of Michigan and Illinois. He is a member of the Workers Compensation Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.
- Employment Discrimination
- Employment ContractEmployment law determines the employment relationship and duties between employers and employees and includes employment contracts, employee handbooks, hiring and firing, and injuries that arise out of and in the course of employment.
- Employment LitigationJennifer Wu is an experienced civil litigation attorney and a shareholder of Lewis, Reed & Allen, P.C. Prior to joining the firm, she was associated with a private firm in New York City and represented private and public clients in a variety of civil litigation matters in State and Federal courts, administrative proceedings, and alternative dispute resolution forums. Her areas of practice include employment litigation and counseling, construction and product defect, land use, local taxation, and probate matters. Jennifer has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star in the area of Civil Litigation.
- Non-compete Agreement
- Sexual Harassment
- Real Estate LitigationKim enjoys working with small business owners and has assisted them with their legal needs from forming an LLC or corporation, to selling their business or transitioning it to a family member or key employee. She also assists small business owners with contract negotiations, employment matters, acquisitions and sales of businesses, commercial leasing and other real estate matters.
- Premises Liability
- Construction LitigationJim’s expertise is primarily in real estate, including sale and leasing transactions; condominium developments; zoning and land use law; construction contracts and liens; real estate litigation; security interests in real estate; cell tower, wind farm, and solar panel leasing; oil, gas and minerals; and the real property aspects of avigation law. Jim also has extensive experience with business contracts and nonprofit corporations. He has been peer rated as “AV – Preeminent,” the highest level of Professional Excellence.
- Real Estate TransactionsMichael’s practice focuses on business planning, organizational planning and documentation, acquisitions and mergers, estate planning, preparation of Wills and Trusts, probate administration, trust administration, contract law, commercial transactions, real estate transactions, and business and tax research. Michael is an AV-rated lawyer in the Martindale-Hubbell® lawyer directory.
- Easement
- Land Use and ZoningReal estate law includes purchase and sale transactions, boundary disputes, landlord-tenant law, zoning and land use law, condominium law, oil… Read more
- Landlord-Tenant DisputesCriminal Defense, Driver’s License Restoration, Expungements, Traffic Offenses, Divorce, Custody, Landlord Tenant, Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Civil Litigation.
- Property DamagePersonal injury law typically involves personal or property damage suffered as a result of the negligence or intentional wrongdoing of… Read more
- Condominium LawReal estate law includes purchase and sale transactions, boundary disputes, landlord-tenant law, zoning and land use law, condominium law, oil and gas law, construction liens, water law and riparian rights, and easements.
- Personal InjuryDavid has extensive experience in many practice areas including civil litigation, corporate/business law, employment matters, personal injury and municipal law. His practice now focuses primarily on civil litigation, business law and personal injury law.
- Social Security DisabilityFire, Wrongful Death, Worker’s Compensation, Social Security Disability, Automobile accidents, premises liability, defective products, physical injury/property damage, insurance disputes.
- Estate PlanningWhile attending law school, Staci focused her elective courses in international law and estate planning. Staci was awarded the Certificate of Merit in estate planning and also chosen as a member of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Team. In her final term, Staci clerked for the Honorable Mary Ellen Coghlan, Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court, Probate Division, in Chicago, Illinois.
- WillsMichael has authored several publications, including “Planning for Spouses and Descendants” and “Trusts by Citizens or Residents for Noncitizen Spouses (Qualified Domestic Trusts)”, Michigan Revocable Grantor Trusts (ICLE). He is also author of the “Inheritance Tax” Section of the Michigan Probate Sourcebook (ICLE) and “Michigan Estate Tax”, Taxation of Estates and Trusts (ICLE). He is co-author of “Real Estate Reporting Expanded by New Regs.”, Taxation for Accountants (March 1991), Taxation for Lawyers (May/June 1991) (Warren, Gorham & Lamont), Michigan Inheritance Tax – A Practitioner’s Guide (ICLE), and “Will Contests and Will Construction”, Michigan Probate Litigation (ICLE).
- TrustsTom is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Federal Bar Association of West Michigan, recently receiving its Nims-Howard Civility Award. He is a member of the Kalamazoo County Bar Association and co-chair of its Memorial Section. He has taught Probate & Trust Administration and Elder Law at local colleges.
- Power of AttorneyKim is passionate about estate planning and helping clients protect the needs and interests of their families, including drafting wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. She also works with business owners to develop succession plans for future generations.
- ProbateLana has presented at Legal Aid’s “Probate & Pro Bono: Help Families Protect Assets & Achieve Homeownership Training Event” August 2022; Co-Authored “The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Probate Law” published in the FBA Bankruptcy Journal-Summer 2021 Issue; Spoke for the National Business Institute Collection Law Course June 2021; and Spoke at the 23
- BankruptcyLana has practiced in district, circuit and probate courts throughout the State of Michigan, as well as the Federal Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Western District of Michigan. Her expertise is in bankruptcy and insolvency, workouts and collections with an emphasis on creditors’ rights. She has represented credit unions and banks throughout the United States. While clerking for Stephen L. Langeland, a United States Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee and creditors’ rights attorney, she developed an interest in bankruptcy law. She continued on as an associate with his firm, until 2011, when she joined Capitol Bancorp Ltd., a holding company that held many bank charters throughout the United States as in-house corporate counsel. While employed as corporate counsel, she was part of the litigation team and the lead bankruptcy attorney.
- ForeclosureLana went back into private practice in 2014, was a founding member of Escamilla & Salisbury, PLLC and recently joined Lewis Reed & Allen, P.C. She continues to focus her practice on representing financial institutions with a focus on creditors’ rights, including bankruptcy, workouts and collections. Lana also represents individuals, non-profit organizations, and small businesses and has extensive experience in probate law, business transactions, including note sales, real estate law in the area of foreclosures, land contracts, landlord-tenant and civil litigation. She is on the rotation for the Kalamazoo County Probate Court to serve as guardian ad litem for vulnerable individuals in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.
- Tax LawTax law covers two very different areas: Local, State and Federal Taxation, including estate, income, corporate and gift tax; and Tax Litigation, including property tax appeals and other tax-related administrative proceedings.