Overview
Mr. Bell serves as Co-Chair of the Financial Institutions Practice Group at Honigman. He concentrates his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, class action defense strategies, business law, and real estate. He represents financial institutions throughout the United States and has completed over 35 M&A transactions in the past five years. In 2011, he pioneered a new option for credit unions to achieve rapid growth with the first purchase of a bank by a credit union. In this space, he has completed all but four credit union purchases of banks and has become the nationwide leader and go-to legal adviser. Mr. Bell has also helped credit unions acquire other businesses, including real estate brokerages, mortgage originators, and specialized lenders. He additionally advises financial institutions on all regulatory matters at the state and federal level. Mr. Bell has extensive experience counseling individual entrepreneurs through publicly traded companies on strategies such as growth in difficult economic climates, business restructuring, and strategic planning.
In order to provide the very best legal and strategic advice, Mr. Bell uses his personal experience as an entrepreneur to examine the business side of the legal issues his clients encounter and works to fully understand each individual and the inner workings of his or her company.
Services
Practice Areas
Experience
Representative Matters
- Completed the first purchase of a bank by state chartered credit union
- Completed the first purchase of a stock owned bank by a credit union
- Completed new mechanisms for financial institutions to invest capital and grow
- Completed the first purchase of a bank by a credit union
Credentials
Education
- with honors
- Political Science
Admissions
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Iowa
- Illinois
- Wisconsin
- Indiana
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
Recognition
Awards
- Law Bulletin Media
- Leading Lawyers, Banking & Financial Institutions Law, 2014-2020, 2023
- Leading Lawyers, Creditor's Rights/Commercial Collections Law, 2014-2020, 2023
- Leading Lawyers, Mergers & Acquisition Law, 2014-2020, 2023
- Leading Lawyers, Real Estate Law: Commercial, 2014-2020, 2023
- Michigan Super Lawyers, "Rising Stars," 2013-2018
- Michigan Lawyers Weekly, "Leader in the Law," 2017
- dbusiness, "Top Lawyers," 2016
- Credit Union Times, "Trailblazer 40 Below," 2013
-
The Best Lawyers in America
- Recognized in the practice area of Financial Services Regulation Law, 2023
Professional & Community Involvement
- Adrian College, Member, Board of Trustees, 2020 - Present
- Potawatomi Zoological Society, Member, Board of Trustees, 2020 - Present