Real Estate & Economic Development

Our attorneys have robust experience in the areas of real estate and economic development, involving both transaction and litigation matters. Partner Matt Schenk has been involved in negotiating and securing tax incentive deals for economic development projects and negotiating land sales with local governments and land banks. He also is an expert in forming public-private partnerships to assist his clients in development projects. During the foreclosure crisis, Partner Brian Summerfield oversaw a team of attorneys involved in suits against mortgage lenders, servicers, and brokers, which included investigating fraudulent lending activities. He has extensive construction litigation experience representing construction firms. Partner Tom Bruetsch has handled complex construction litigation on behalf of owners, which included the settlement of a $100 million claim involving the construction of Ford Field.

★★★★★

“I called upon the services of attorney Matthew Schenk of Schenk & Bruetsch to help me with an extremely urgent and difficult matter to expedite the processing of some critical documents by the city (Detroit), county (Wayne) and state (Michigan). Even under the best times, this is something that would have taken weeks. I needed results in a few days. To make matters more difficult, this was during COVID, so instead of even weeks, I was told by government officials that it would likely take 2-3 months. Having known Mr. Schenk’s background and reputation, I asked if there was anything he could do to help, as I had reached dead ends on all fronts, and failure in this matter was not an option for me. He promptly began making calls to his close connections at all government levels, and within three days (!!) I had everything completed. Amazing.”

– John T., Royal Oak, Michigan

★★★★★

“During my tenure as SVP & General Counsel for Litigation for a major financial institution, I worked with local Detroit and national firms on a regular basis. Tom Bruetsch was one of the Detroit attorneys that I worked with on several matters. I found him to be accessible, an excellent strategist and reasonable in his advice and the time he spent on our projects. As the in-house counsel, I appreciated the fact that Tom understood that I was ultimately responsible for the outcome of the matter and he worked very diligently to ensure I was part of the litigation team. I was involved in most, if not all, strategy and preparation sessions and was provided plenty of time to review significant pleadings prior to their being filed with the court. Such attention to the client relationship was not something that I found across attorneys I worked with. Tom had that in spades. I would highly recommend him for your litigation matters.”

– Terri R.

Real Estate & Economic Development

Real Estate & Economic Development

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