Geaneen M. Arends

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 general business law and commercial real estate.

Ms. Arends assists business clients with general business planning, entity formation and maintenance, mergers, acquisitions, private placements, woman-owned/minority-owned/disadvantaged business certification, insurance and risk management issues and general business contracts. She has also advised business clients on a variety of real estate transactions, including acquisition, 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 also serves on the Board of Directors of the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit Public Television, and is a member of the Detroit Board Leadership Program Advisory Board. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

All Related Practice Areas

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 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

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