For example, Dickinson Wright Attorney Colleen Shevnock had
a front row seat to the financial crisis in 2008 as she helped her clients
weather the storm. As a banking and finance lawyer, Colleen generally works on
documenting and negotiating commercial loan transactions; lending money to
businesses.
“In 2008, when the economy took a nose dive, we were dealing
with more work-outs because borrowers were violating financial covenants that
were in their loan agreements. Banks were not making many new loans but were
retrenching and dealing with problems” says Colleen. “We had to bring everyone
back to the table and negotiate a solution. Banks were working with their
clients to get through the rough patches and it was my job to help both parties
come to equitable agreements.” As the economy has stabilized, she is back to
working on front-end transactions, representing both banks and borrowers.
Colleen decided to become a lawyer when she was an
undergraduate at Michigan State University. In her second year of law school,
she was a summer associate with Dickinson Wright and it was at that point that
she had to make the choice between litigator and transactional lawyer.
“My favorite thing about being a lawyer is that when you are
a corporate/transactional lawyer, everybody wants to get to the same place
compared to litigators, whose cases tend to be completely adversarial,” says
Colleen. “I like the challenge of working with a team of people representing different
parties but all working toward the same goal. You problem solve all day.”
Colleen works with commercial lenders at various banks in
and outside of Michigan. She also works with borrowers on the other side of the
loan transaction. “My job is really to assist
my clients in getting from point A to point B, while protecting their interests
along the way” says Colleen.
Her ability to work with large scale teams of people and the
results she produces, has led Colleen to be recognized by several leading
publications including Chambers USA,
Michigan Super Lawyers, and DBusiness
Top Lawyers. Colleen continues to impress her clients with her ability to
solve their problems in the increasingly compressed time frames that have been
forced upon the economy.
Outside of the office, she loves to spend time with her
family, gardening and taking Pilates classes. Her son is involved in a local
youth musical theatre program in Ann Arbor and Colleen enjoys supporting his
passion. “I enjoy spending time with the theater kids and I’ve learned so much
about musical theatre through his involvement,” says Colleen with a smile.
To learn more about Colleen's practice, please click here.
