Vernon Saper Receives National Award from The ESOP Association

Vernon P. Saper, a partner with Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, has received a national award from The ESOP Association.

The ESOP Association, which is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans, recently presented Saper with its 2007 Membership Recruitment Award for "his diligence in promoting the association and its work." Saper has been a member of The ESOP Association since 1991 and is the leading ESOP attorney in the state of Michigan.

"Vern has done so much to build membership in the Grand Rapids area, which has the highest concentration of ESOP companies of any mid-sized metropolitan area in America," said J. Michael Keeling, association president. "I am delighted to present Vern with this recognition for his commitment to making sure the voice of employee ownership is strong and getting stronger."
Saper concentrates his practice in employee benefits law, with a specific emphasis on ESOPs. He has extensive experience designing and preparing ESOPs. During his career, he has assisted more than 100 public, closely held and family-owned businesses design and institute employee stock ownership plans.

Active both professionally and personally, Saper serves as secretary for the Michigan Chapter of The ESOP Association. He is past chair and has served for more than 25 years as a board member of Goodwill Industries of Grand Rapids and its Foundation. He is also past president of the board of directors of the Hearing and Speech Center of Grand Rapids.

Saper has been listed in multiple editions of The Best Lawyers in America for more than 20 years. He is a member of the American Bar Association, serving on the employee benefits committee of its Taxation Section, and the same committee and section for the State Bar of Michigan.

Saper holds a bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University and his doctor of jurisprudence, summa cum laude, from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit.

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About The ESOP Association

Founded in 1978, The ESOP Association represents over 1,400 ESOP companies who believe that employee ownership will improve American competitiveness, increase productivity through greater employee participation and strengthen our free enterprise economy.

About Warner Norcross & Judd

Warner Norcross & Judd LLP is one of the leading law firms in Michigan. With more than 180 attorneys in Grand Rapids, Metro Detroit, Holland and Muskegon, Warner Norcross is a full-service provider of legal services. Nearly half of our partners are listed in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Warner Norcross was also named the best corporate law firm in West Michigan by Corporate Board Member magazine for the third year in a row. Warner Norcross has been recognized as a national leader in client service among law firms by BTI Consulting, as one of the nation's leading employment law firms by Workforce Management and as one of West Michigan's 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For. The Firm represents local, statewide, regional, national and international clients in all areas of business and civil law.