Geaneen Arends, Butzel Long Photo

Geaneen M. Arends is a Shareholder practicing in Butzel's Detroit office. She is a Vice President of Butzel and serves on the firm's Board of Directors.  She also serves as Chair of Butzel's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She concentrates her practice on mergers and acquisitions, general business law and commercial real estate.

Overview

Geaneen M. Arends is a Shareholder practicing in Butzel's Detroit office. She is a Vice President of Butzel and serves on the firm's Board of Directors. She also serves as Chair of Butzel's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She concentrates her practice on mergers and acquisitions, general business law and commercial real estate.

Ms. Arends assists business clients with general business planning, entity formation and maintenance, mergers, acquisitions, commercial lending, woman-owned/minority-owned /disadvantaged business certification, risk management issues and general business contracts. She has also advised business clients on a variety of real estate transactions, including acquisition, disposition, development and leasing of multi-family residential, retail, office and industrial properties throughout the United States. She has represented both borrowers and lenders in multi-million dollar real estate financing transactions. Prior to joining Butzel, Ms. Arends was in-house counsel for a real estate investment and property management firm and previously practiced in the real estate groups of two prominent Detroit law firms.

Ms. Arends is a graduate of Michigan State University (B.A., History, 1994) and of Boston College Law School (J.D., 1998). She is admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan.

Ms. Arends is an alumna of Leadership Detroit, Class XXVII. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit Public Television, Detroit Legal News Co. (DTRL) U.S.: OTC and is a member of the Detroit Board Leadership Program Advisory Board. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Detroit Bar Association.

Primary Practice Areas

Credentials

Education

Boston College Law School Law School 1998, J.D.

Michigan State University Undergraduate 1994, B.A.

Admissions

Memberships

  • Karmanos Cancer Institute, Board of Directors
  • Detroit Regional Chamber's Detroit Board Leadership Program Advisory Board
  • Detroit Public Television, Member - Executive Committee, Secretary - Board of Trustees 
  • Detroit Legal News Co. (DTRL) U.S.: OTC, Board of Directors
  • Detroit Economic Club, Gold Member
  • Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Classical Roots Steering Committee
  • Detroit Board Leadership Program, Advisory Board Member
  • American Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • ICLE Real Property Law Advisory Board Member

Awards & Recognitions

Awards & Recognitions

Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2024 Notable Black Business Leaders

The Best Lawyers in America® - Real Estate Law, 2025

2021 Diversity Business Leader Honoree by Corp! Magazine

Crain's Detroit Business - Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, 2021

Crain's Detroit Business - Notable Woman Attorney, 2017

M&A Advisor - Cross-Border M&A Deal of the Year (over $50MM – $100MM), 2016

Association for Corporate Growth, Detroit - All Star Deal of the Year Over $50 Million, 2015

Michigan Lawyers Weekly - Women in the Law, 2014

DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Nonprofits/Charities Law, 2014; Corporate Law, 2018 & 2022, 2023; Real Estate Law, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020-2023; Mergers & Acquisitions Law, 2018, 2020

News & Events

News

Speaking Engagements

Alerts & Publications

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