For more than 40 years, Charlie McCallum has counseled business clients and represented those clients in a variety of transactions.  His practice includes all aspects of business law, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate financings, joint ventures, distribution arrangements, and transnational transactions and investments.  He has advised both publicly held and privately owned businesses, and has assisted the latter in managing the transition of ownership.  He is a former Managing Partner of the Firm, and has chaired the Firm's International Business Practice Group. 

Representative Experience

  • Managed the corporate, securities, and tax issues involved in combining five businesses with different ownership and represented for 35 years the resulting privately owned, multi-industry company (sales in excess of $300 million) headquartered on the Michigan lakeshore; in the course of that representation has handled the acquisition of a number of companies throughout the United States, as well as several dispositions and has assisted in the negotiation and structuring of transnational joint ventures, transnational mergers and acquisitions, and global distribution arrangements
  • Represented the North American daughter companies of a large privately owned German multi-industry company (sales in excess of $300 million) for more than 30 years, and served on the boards of directors of those U.S. subsidiaries
  • Assisted a large German automotive products (both Tier 1 and aftermarket) company with sales in excess of $300 million in the restructuring of its North American operations, and for more than 10 years counseled the German owner of the group as well as the group's North American daughter companies
  • Represented the shareholders of companies in industries as diverse as publishing, direct marketing, food processing, agricultural equipment manufacturing and industrial machinery manufacturing in negotiating and completing the sales of their businesses in a variety of transactions
  • Assisted clients in making acquisitions and mergers, including joint ventures, both within and outside the United States in a number of industries including automotive products, printing equipment, furniture products, and industrial conveyor equipment
  • Assisted a large Japanese company to establish its first North American manufacturing operation
  • Assisted a very large (sales in excess of $2 billion) privately owned global manufacturing and sales company in implementing a structured plan for succession of ownership, governance, and management

Honors and Awards

  • Fulbright Scholar, University of Manchester (England), Faculty of Law 1960-61
  • Honored as 2012 "Grand Rapids International Trade and Finance Law Lawyer of the Year" by The Best Lawyers in America
  • Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law and International Trade and Finance Law, 1983-2012
  • Named to Michigan Super Lawyers 2006-2011
  • Honored as 2009 "Grand Rapids Corporate Lawyer of the Year" by The Best Lawyers in America
  • Listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law
  • Recognized for his international experience in corporate and mergers-acquisitions in Michigan by Chambers USA 2009
  • Sigma Xi Science Honorary Society
  • Order of the Coif
  • Managing Editor, Vanderbilt Law Review
  • Fellow, American College of Law Practice Management
  • Member, American Law Institute
  • Former Managing Partner of the Firm
  • West Michigan World Trader of the Year, 1998
  • Former Chair, Michigan District Export Council

Bar Associations

  • American Bar Association
    • Section of Business Law
      • Member
      • Immediate Past Chair
    • ABA Task Force on International Trade in Legal Services
    • Committee on Law Firms and Committee on Professional Conduct
      • Former Chair
    • Commission on Multijurisdictional Practice
      • Member
    • Task Force on Corporate Responsibility
      • Member
    • Standing Committee on Ethics & Professional Responsibility
      • Former Chair
  • State Bar of Michigan
    • Business Law Section
      • Former Chair, 1988-89
  • Grand Rapids Bar Association
  • International Bar Association

Teaching and Lecturing

  • Member, Editorial Board, Past Editor-in-Chief, The Business Lawyer
  • Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, 1961-64

Publications

Professional Affiliations

  • TerraLex (an international legal referral network)
    Chair and CEO

Community Affiliations

  • Butterworth Hospital
    Past Chair
  • Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
    Past Chair
  • Grand Rapids Area Transit Authority
    Past Chair
  • Grand Rapids Art Museum
    Past Chair
  • Michigan District Export Council
    Past Chair
  • Priority Health
    Past Chair
  • Research and Technology Institute of West Michigan
    Past Chair
  • The Right Place Program
    Past Executive Board Member
  • Volunteer Trustees of Not-for-Profit Hospitals
    Past Chair

News

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