CARL J. VERSPOOR THOMAS W. WAALKES ROBERT L. LALLEY, JR. DANIEL J. SLOTSEMA EDWARD J. “CHIP” TALEN TIMOTHY J. WAALKES JOHN D. BOYLES CARL J. VERSPOOR cjv@vwlst.com Mr. Verspoor was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from Calvin College with an A.B. degree in 1965 and from Wayne State University with a J.D. degree, magna cum laude, in 1968. He was admitted to the Michigan Bar and United States District Court of the Western District of Michigan in 1968. Mr. Verspoor’s practice focuses on corporate and business law and real estate transactions. Mr. Verspoor represents various small to medium size, closely held companies. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Grand Rapids Bar Association. He is also a member and active participant in the Pro Bono Program of Western Michigan. Mr. Verspoor is an active member of his church and has served on the boards of many charitable organizations. Areas of Practice: • Corporate law • Business law • Real estate transactions Back to Top THOMAS W. WAALKES tww@vwlst.com Mr. Waalkes was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended Calvin College graduating with a B.A. degree in 1966 and also Wayne State University of Law School with a J.D. degree in 1969. Mr. Waalkes was a Trust Officer in the Probate Department of Old Kent Bank & Trust Company (now Fifth Third Bank) before entering private practice. Mr. Waalkes has been a part-time instructor in business law at Calvin College since 1971. His practice focuses on estate planning and probate administration. He holds memberships in numerous estate planning, planned giving, probate and trust groups. Areas of Practice: • Estate planning • Probate administration • Trust administration Back to Top ROBERT L. LALLEY, JR. rll@vwlst.com Mr. Lalley was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from Central Michigan University in 1970 with a B.A. degree and from law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a J.D. degree in 1973. He clerked for a year at the Michigan Court of Appeals and entered private practice in 1974. Mr. Lalley has a broad, general civil litigation practice with an emphasis in family law. He has enjoyed representing business and individual clients on a variety of matters involving contract, real estate, personal injury, family law issues and wills and trusts. Mr. Lalley has been very involved in bar association activities including service on several state and local bar committees. He served as President of the Grand Rapids Bar Association from 1995-1996. He is a certified family law mediator with the Kent County Circuit Court. Areas of Practice: • Family law • General civil litigation • Personal Injury • Wills and Trusts Back to Top DANIEL J. SLOTSEMA djs@vwlst.com Mr. Slotsema was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from Calvin College with a B.A. degree in 1974. He then worked as a middle school social studies teacher for three years. Following that he attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School, graduating with a J.D. degree in 1981. Mr. Slotsema was admitted to the Michigan Bar and the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan in 1981. He was admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in 2002. Mr. Slotsema specializes in litigation and has an expertise in construction lien and collection cases. He has developed an ability to resolve disputes in a quick and cost efficient manner. Mr. Slotsema has held leadership positions in his church and volunteers to serve community organizations including serving as a mentor for underprivileged and disadvantaged young people. Areas of Practice: • Litigation • Construction lien matters • Collection matters Back to Top EDWARD J. “CHIP” TALEN ejt@vwlst.com Mr. Talen was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up in Southern California. He returned to Grand Rapids for his undergraduate work at Calvin College where he graduated with a B.A. degree in business and economics in 1979. Thereafter, he attended law school at the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, in Sacramento, California, where he graduated in 1982. Mr. Talen joined the law firm of Clifford and Brown in Bakersfield, California in 1983 and became a principal in 1988. He moved back to Grand Rapids in 1994 to join the firm. Mr. Talen enjoys a broad transactional practice that includes entity formation and advice, business contracts and transactions, business purchases and sales, succession planning and commercial real estate matters. He serves as general business and corporate counsel to an expansive spectrum of clients in the West Michigan area. He is a member of the Grand Rapids Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the State Bar of California. Mr. Talen is a past president of the Business and Tax Section of the Grand Rapids Bar Association. He is also an active member of his church and serves on its Board of Directors. Mr. Talen is married and has four children. He and his family love travel, winter sports, camping and boating. Areas of Practice: • Entity formation and advice • Business contracts and transactions • Business purchases and sales • Succession planning • Commercial real estate matters Back to Top TIMOTHY J. WAALKES tjw@vwlst.com Mr. Waalkes graduated from Calvin College with a B.A. degree in political science in 1996. He then graduated from Wayne State University Law School with a J.D. degree in 1999. Mr. Waalkes previously honed his litigation skills at two medical malpractice law firms in the Lansing, Michigan area before joining the firm in July of 2004. He now practices in the areas of estate planning, probate administration, trust administration, probate litigation, business law, and general civil litigation. He has been a member of the Optimist Club of Grand Rapids since 2004. He is also a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Bar Association, the National Committee on Planned Giving, and the West Michigan Estate Planning Council. Mr. Waalkes has received a Certificate of Completion in the areas of probate and estate planning issued by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education and the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Click here to view the Certificate of Completion. Areas of Practice: • Estate planning • Probate administration • Trust administration • Probate litigation • Business law • General civil litigation Back to Top JOHN D. BOYLES (Retired) jdb@vwlst.com Mr. Boyles received his B.B.A. from the University of Michigan Business School and his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School. In 1958, while attending law school, Mr. Boyles became engaged in the family restaurant business when his father died. For over 30 years, he and his partner, Richard Faber, developed the Mr. Fables Family Restaurant chain which was sold in 1988. At the time of the sale, there were 17 Mr. Fables restaurants operating in West Michigan. In addition, the partners developed a successful real estate development company developing restaurants, offices and strip shopping centers. From 1985 to 2000 Mr. Boyles served on the Board of Directors of Old Kent Financial Corporation (now Fifth Third) and for several years served as chairman of its Audit Committee. Since being admitted to the practice of law in 1960, Mr. Boyles has continued to practice in the area of corporate law, real estate and estate planning and is currently of counsel in the firm. He has retired from active practice as of January 1, 2005, but is available for consultation on a limited basis. Areas of Practice: • Corporate law • Real estate • Estate planning