Law Offices of Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick, P.C.

Client base and geographic reach

Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick, P.C. has served clients since 1937. The firm handles matters across Michigan and the Midwest. Its website also identifies business and real estate work in other states and international settings.

The client list includes individuals, businesses, developers, retailers, insurers, banks, and governmental agencies. Those clients bring different legal needs and decision structures. An individual may control a personal planning matter, while a corporation or public agency may require approval from officers, directors, or public officials.

The firm lists seven main areas: business and banking, estate planning and administration, family law, labor and employment, litigation and trial practice, municipal law, and real estate. Its attorneys also work with contracts, commercial leases, insurance issues, corporate matters, and banking concerns. The published scope connects transactional advice with courtroom and administrative work.

Business, banking, and real estate work

Amanda R. Wanty focuses on corporate governance, entity formation, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, commercial transactions, and real estate transactions. Randolph T. Barker represents businesses and individuals in commercial, construction, corporate governance, and real estate matters. Marjorie M. Dixon works in business and real estate law.

Transactions and corporate decisions

Business formation usually begins with a choice of entity and governing documents. Owners may also need agreements that define voting rights, management authority, transfers, and succession. Merger and acquisition work can involve due diligence, negotiated contracts, financing terms, approvals, and closing documents.

Commercial matters may continue after a company forms or completes a deal. Contract interpretation, governance questions, and regulatory duties can arise during ordinary operations. Christopher M. Jacobson has worked on real estate, state and local tax, regulatory compliance, and civil litigation in private practice and in corporate and government sectors.

Property transactions and financing

Dixon has assisted clients with the purchase, sale, and financing of commercial properties, agricultural properties, and homes. The firm also identifies commercial leasing as part of its work. Real estate files often involve purchase agreements, title records, loan documents, leases, land use rules, and closing requirements.

Developers, retailers, banks, and property owners may enter a transaction with different goals. Lenders focus on repayment terms and collateral. Buyers and sellers focus on title, condition, timing, and the allocation of contract duties.

Planning for families, estates, and workplaces

Jay B. Long advises individuals and families on estate planning, probate and trust administration, and wealth transfer strategies. His clients include high net worth individuals and multi-generational families. Michael Crowley also focuses on estate planning and probate administration, along with business law and real estate.

Estate planning and administration

Estate planning commonly addresses the ownership and transfer of assets. A plan may use wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, and documents that assign authority during incapacity. Probate and trust administration begin after death and can require asset collection, creditor review, tax work, distributions, and court filings.

Wealth transfer planning can involve family goals, business ownership, and the timing of gifts or inheritances. Multi-generational planning may also require coordination among several people and existing entities. These matters depend on accurate records and clear directions about who may make decisions.

Family and employment matters

Family law appears as a separate area on the firm's website. Family cases often involve court pleadings, financial disclosures, temporary orders, settlement discussions, and hearings. Judges decide contested issues under state law and the facts presented in each case.

The firm also handles labor and employment matters. Barker represents management in that field. Employment work may concern workplace policies, contracts, discipline, termination, statutory duties, administrative claims, or litigation.

Civil litigation and public law

Erik Duenas focuses on civil litigation defense and has represented corporate and private clients at trial in courts across Michigan. The firm's trial lawyers have appeared in state and federal courts. Their stated work includes trials, appeals, administrative hearings, and administrative appeals.

How civil cases proceed

Civil litigation usually starts with pleadings that identify the claims, defenses, and requested relief. The parties then exchange documents and testimony through discovery. Judges manage schedules and decide motions before any trial takes place.

A trial requires the parties to present admissible evidence and legal arguments. The judge or jury then decides the disputed issues assigned to that decision-maker. An appeal focuses on the existing record, written briefs, and claimed legal errors.

Administrative disputes follow procedures set by the responsible agency and governing law. A hearing officer, agency board, or court may review the matter at different stages. The firm's stated inclusion of hearings and appeals places this work within its civil litigation record.

Municipal clients and proceedings

Municipal law is another listed field, and governmental agencies appear among the firm's clients. Barker represents municipalities in commercial, real estate, construction, corporate governance, and labor and employment matters. Public bodies often make decisions through councils, boards, commissions, or designated officials.

Municipal files can involve ordinances, contracts, property, employment duties, and administrative procedures. Public records and formal approvals may shape the timing of a matter. The decision-maker depends on the legal issue and the authority granted by state or local law.

How the attorney team is built

The published roster identifies both shareholders and associates. The biographies describe attorneys with transactional, planning, litigation, government, and corporate experience. In my opinion as a reviewer, the clearest evidence of the firm's range comes from these named areas of individual work.

Shareholders with stated practice detail

Crowley works in estate planning, probate administration, business law, and real estate. He belongs to the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan, and the Washtenaw County Bar Association. Barker, Dixon, and Duenas add stated experience in business disputes, property matters, employment work, and civil litigation defense.

Albert L. Balewski earned his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in 2011. He earned his law degree cum laude from the University of Toledo College of Law in 2014. Arminia Duenas received a Bachelor of Arts from Wayne State University in 1998 and a Juris Doctor from the same university in 2003.

Curtiss Flexter graduated from the University of Michigan in 2010 and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami in 2013. He practiced in Florida for one year before moving to Michigan. His biography supplies a clear educational and geographic path into Michigan practice.

Associates with defined subject areas

Wanty brings a transactional focus that covers corporate structure, deals, succession, commercial agreements, and real estate. Long concentrates on estate planning and administration. Jacobson brings experience across civil litigation, property, taxation, and compliance.

Cody D. Black grew up in Jackson, Michigan. He graduated from Central Michigan University's College of Business Administration in 2015. His major was Law and Economics, with a minor in Business Information Systems.

What the published record supports

The website identifies a long-established Ann Arbor firm with work for private clients, commercial entities, financial institutions, insurers, and public agencies. It names attorneys and gives direct detail about several individual fields. The civil litigation record includes trial work in Michigan courts, federal and state proceedings, appellate matters, and administrative cases.

The transactional record covers corporate formation, governance, acquisitions, succession, contracts, financing, leases, and property transfers. The personal planning record covers estates, probate, trusts, and wealth transfers. Joy M. Glovick has worked for the firm continuously since June 1997 and has been an attorney there since May 2004.