Steven K. Stawski

Attorney Steven K. Stawski serves as general counsel to corporations, limited liability companies, and closely-held businesses for real estate, lending, commercial, construction, and insurance matters.

Representative clients include banks, mortgage lenders, insurers, health care organizations, architectural and engineering firms, developers, contractors, manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers.

Steve actively monitors new developments in the real estate, mortgage lending, construction and health care industries. He assists clients with transactional and litigation needs arising from the financing, purchase, development, management, licensing, operation, leasing, and sale of real and personal property interests.

Steve currently serves as co-chair of the State Bar of Michigan-Real Property Section's construction law committee and is often invited to speak to industry groups on recent legal developments and trends. His state-wide practice is based out of the the firms' Grand Rapids office.

He enjoys outdoor and sporting activities with his wife Michelle and their three sons.

Education

  • Princeton University (AB, 1992)
  • University of Michigan (Master of Health Services Administration, 1997)
  • Michigan State University College of Law, cum laude (JD, 2003); Executive Director, Moot Court

Noteworthy

  • Listed as a "Rising Star" in Michigan Super Lawyers
  • Extern, United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan for the Honorable David McKeague
  • Law Clerk, Michigan 54-B District Court for the Honorable David L. Jordon

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association (Litigation Section and Construction Industry Forum)
  • State Bar of Michigan, Real Property Section 
  • Grand Rapids Bar Association
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Member, Michigan Land Title Association

Community Affiliations

  • Member, Board of Directors, YMCA Camp Manitou-lin 
  • American Inns of Court, Gerald Ford Chapter
  • Economic Club of Grand Rapids

Admitted to Practice

  • State Bar of Michigan
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Recent Articles and Presentations

  •  Real Estate 
    • "Minimizing the Risks of Construction Lender Liability," Fifth Third Bank, May 4, 2010 
    • "Protecting Rights to Payment: Construction Liens and Other Considerations for Minimizing Financial Risk," SHRR Seminar, March 9, 2010  
    • "Merger Clauses in Commercial Real Estate Purchase Agreements," SHRR Legal Alert, March 2009
    • "Green Building-Product, Performance or Promise?" SHRR Seminar, January 24, 2008
    • Panelist speaker for the Home & Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids, September, 2006
    • "Recent Decisions concerning Eminent Domain and Consumer Protection," Seminar sponsored by the Home & Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids, January, 2006
    • "Home Equity: The Need to Build Predatory Lending Legislation on a Fundamental Legal and Ethical Foundation," Michigan State University College of Law, 2002
  •  Commercial 
    • "Roundtable: Spotting the Top 5 Contract Clauses for Your Company," SHRR Seminar, April 30, 2009 
    • "Contract Damages: How is a $14.5 Million Dollar Award Possible on a $400,000 Job?" SHRR Newsletter, September 2008
    • "A Practical Resource for Managing UCC-Based Litigation," FDCC Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 4, Summer 2008
    • "Managing UCC-Based Litigation: A Practitioner's Guide," Michigan Defense Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1, July 2008
    • "Conflicts of Interest and Ethics in Public Contracting," seminar sponsored by Lorman Educational Services, August, 2005
  • Construction 
    • "The Rules of Construction: Legal Relationships in the Design-Build and Integrated Project Delivery Era," Michigan Real Property Review, Vol. 36, No. 3, Fall 2009. 
    • "Architect and Engineer Seal Requirements: AG Opinion Excludes Finished Basements from Calculation," SHRR Newsletter, January 2008
    • "Building a Solid Sub-Consultant Agreement," SHRR Seminar, January 24, 2008  
    • "Failure to Perform Condition Precedent Can Eliminate Owner's Obligation to Pay," SHRR Newsletter, October 2007
    • "Challenging Claims that "Sound in Tort": The Economic Loss Doctrine in the Construction Setting, SHRR Newsletter, June 2007
    • "Payment and Performance Bonds," Michigan Construction Law for Architects, Engineers & Contractors through Half Moon LLC, a registered continuing education sponsor for the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Grand Rapids, MI, April 26, 2007  
    • "Plans, Specifications, and Lawsuits: Recent Trends in Design Professional and Contractor Liability," SHRR Newsletter, March 2007
    • "Claim Submission: Timing and Detail is Everything," SHRR Seminar, Traverse City, MI, February 28, 2007
    • "Design/Build: From the Contractor's Perspective," SHRR Seminar, Traverse City, MI, February 28, 2007
    • "Plans, Specifications, and Lawsuits: Recent Trends," Construction Specifications Institute's (CSI) Roundtable, Hudsonville, MI, January, 2007  
    • "Cutting Off Claims Against Architects, Engineers and Contractors," West Michigan Builder, Vol 1 No. 9, September, 2006
    • "Ending Claim Exposure," Seminar for Architects, Engineers, and Contractors, Grand Rapids, MI, September, 2006
    • "Contribution and Indemnification in the Construction Industry," in-house presentation to field representatives of the Cincinnati Insurance Companies, Grand Rapids, MI, July, 2005
    • "Risk Transfer for Contractors," seminar sponsored by Berends Hendricks Stuit, Grand Rapids, February, 2004