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Bodman Adds Affiliate Office in Dallas
4/1/2010Bodman LLP has established an affiliate office in Dallas with two attorneys experienced in real estate and banking transactions.
“We are expanding into Texas because we are following our clients that have operations there” said Bodman’s Chairman, Ralph E. McDowell. “Many clients with national operations prefer to assign us out-of-state work whenever possible because we provide top flight service and quality at rates that are below those of leading firms in many markets.”
"Having attorneys based in Texas will open many new opportunities,” McDowell added. “The opportunities won’t just lead to work in Texas, they will create more work for our Michigan-based lawyers, as well.”
Staci Strong Heuvel and Misty Willcox, partners in Dallas-based real estate and banking boutique Strong & Willcox LLP, have joined Bodman as Of Counsel and will work on transactions that require a local presence in Texas or are governed by Texas law.
It is the first time in its 83-year history that Bodman will have attorneys based full-time outside of Michigan.
While Bodman will have attorneys based outside of the state for the first time, McDowell noted that the firm has represented clients in matters outside of Michigan for years.
“For example, we have attorneys who are admitted in California,” McDowell said. “They represent banks on loan transactions governed by California law on a daily basis. Those lawyers are in Detroit and bill at Michigan rates which provides our clients with real value compared to California firms.”
Bodman will initially focus its Texas practice on serving banks. Bodman’s Banking Practice Group is the largest of any Michigan-based law firm with 46 members and more than 80 financial institution clients. The internationally recognized journal Chambers USA consistently rates Bodman as the state’s number one banking law firm based on the evaluations of clients and peers.
In addition to their work with Bodman, Heuvel and Willcox will continue to serve certain clients separately as Strong & Willcox LLP. Heuvel and Willcox represent financial institutions and real estate owners and developers in a range of real estate-related transactions, including loan originations and workouts, acquisitions, dispositions, and construction projects. They also have experience negotiating office, retail, industrial and data center leases, purchase and sale contracts, and architect and other consultant contracts.
Heuvel is a 2002 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama law school where she served as articles editor of the Alabama Law Review. Texas Monthly named her a “Rising Star” in real estate in 2010. Willcox is a 2004 cum laude graduate of the Texas Tech School of Law where she was a Regents Scholar and a member of the Board of Barristers.
Before forming Strong & Willcox both Heuvel and Willcox practiced in the Real Estate and Banking practice at Thompson & Knight, one of the largest Texas-based business law firms with more than 350 attorneys in eleven offices.