Brethren Municipal Lawyers

Nathan Piwowarski is a shareholder and attorney at McCurdy Wotila & Porteous, a law firm that serves northern lower Michigan. Nathan's practice includes estate planning, small business transactions, and municipal law. Nathan earned his B.A. degree in 2002 from Albion College, Summa Cum Laude. He then worked on the campaign and in the legislative office of State Senator Michelle McManus. As an aide to Senator McManus, Nathan was responsible for policy areas ranging from local economic development to natural resource and environmental quality regulation. Nathan earned his J.D. degree in 2007 from the Michigan State University College of Law,...

Robert Gavin is the Senior Associate at Shifman & Carlson, P.C. He has been practicing law since 2008, and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2015, 2018, and 2019. He was also listed by DBusiness Magazine as a Top Lawyer in the Metro Detroit Area for Public Finance Law in both 2014, 2017, and 2018.

Rob brings a wide variety of skills and a diverse background to bear for his clients, including his experience with contract negotiation, employee issues, construction issues. Rob's undergraduate degree is in engineering, which has also been useful to clients during construction issues and in...

Originally a teacher, W. Jay Brown became a lawyer in 1998 and has been in practice in the Great Lakes Bay Region ever since. Mr. Brown graduated first in his law school class and joined Midland’s largest law firm as a litigation associate. While with the firm, Mr. Brown embarked on his litigation career and was soon promoted to member of the firm. In 2009, W. Jay Brown left the law firm to start his own practice based on his vision for the practice of law – where technology and innovation are leveraged to provide clients superior customer and...

I am a shareholder at Rhoades McKee, P.C. I help individuals and businesses facing real estate disputes, land development challenges, condemnation, real estate transactions and construction matters achieve their objectives through a defined and realistic strategy. I can provide a detailed understanding of the emerging legal issues in green building and the LEED rating system. I am the only attorney in West Michigan that has achieved the LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) designation through the United States Green Building Council, and an environmental certification from Green Advantage®. I understand the issues faced by those individuals and businesses in the real...

Raised in Michigan and Florida, Attorney Powers maintains her private practice of law in Petoskey, Michigan, a resort community nestled along Lake Michigan's Little Traverse Bay. However, she handles matters throughout the State of Michigan and often works with out-of-state counsel. Attorney Powers practices in the areas of real property law, appellate law, business law, estate planning and probate and trust administration, and municipal law. Ms. Powers served as City Attorney for the City of Petoskey for several years and also wrote, implemented, and coordinated the Paralegal Program for North Central Michigan College, an associate degree program,...

Dane Carey primarily represents businesses and individuals in litigation and legal disputes. Dane’s practice focuses on general civil litigation, commercial litigation, property litigation, shareholder and employment disputes, and real estate and water (riparian) law. He has significant experience in matters involving businesses, property, civil rights claims, and other complex civil matters. He represents clients throughout Michigan and in state and federal courts, as well as in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court.

About half of my practice consists of local government representation. The remainder is real estate, estate planning, probate, collections and general business matters. We strive to provide prompt and professional services with personal attention and care.

I mediate disputes; speak about and advise governments how to work legally, better and together.