Tony founded the firm with Bob Ufer in 1987. His practice is focused on the representation of corporate and other business entities in various contexts. He has extensive experience and is sought out for advice in general corporate and business matters, mergers and acquisitions and other commercial transactions (including asset and stock transactions), real estate matters, and conventional and other financing (including venture capital and project finance).
Tony’s many and varied representations have included serving as lead counsel in the acquisition, financing and development of a group of U.S. and Canadian biomass energy facilities; serving as General Counsel to the International Hockey League; negotiating an exclusive North American apparel licensing arrangement with Rolling Stone magazine; and providing counsel and representation in numerous business and real estate contexts, including a series of complex shareholder/LLC member buy-sell arrangements.
Education & Professional Affiliations
Tony is a graduate of Harvard University (AB, Cum Laude, John Lowell Gardner National Scholar) and the University of Michigan Law School (JD, Cum Laude, Order of the Coif), where he served as Note Editor of the Michigan Law Review. He is a member of the American and Michigan Bar Associations and was previously associated with the firms of Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman and Simpson & Moran. He also served as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the State of Michigan.
Public Interest Matters
Tony has previously been active in politics and government, running two of his father’s successful campaigns for the Michigan House of Representatives and working for various government officials, including the Secretary of Transportation for the State of Massachusetts. He is also a former news reporter and radio announcer.
In the wake of Michigan’s PBB public health crisis, Tony initiated legislation (enacted as Public Act 82 of 1984) creating the Michigan Cancer Registry to promote and facilitate epidemiological research in the state. In 2004, he served as a legal work group advisor to the Governor’s Commission on Mental Health. In 2016, he served as a panelist on Post-Prison Rehabilitation and Re-Entry at the Leadership Institute At Harvard College.
Community Involvement
Tony is past President of the Michigan Association for Children with Emotional Disorders. He has been a member of the Schools Committee of the Harvard Club of Eastern Michigan, and he has been active with his family at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s “On The Rise Bakery” in Detroit.
Practice Areas
– General Business Counseling and Organization
– Mergers and Acquisitions
– Real Estate
Admissions/Special Qualifications
– Michigan, 1984
– U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 1984
– Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the State of Michigan, 1986
– Legal Work Group Advisor, Governor’s Commission on Mental Health, 2004
– Panelist, Leadership Institute at Harvard College, Post-Prison Rehabilitation and Re-Entry, 2016
Education/Publications
– Harvard University (AB, Cum Laude, John Lowell Gardner National Scholar, 1981)
– University of Michigan (JD, Cum Laude, Order of the Coif, 1984)
– Note Editor and Associate Editor, Michigan Law Review, 1982-1984
– Author: Book Notice, “The Politics of Judicial Reform,” 81 Michigan Law Review 774, 1983