Michael E. "Mike" Zeller

As head of the Global Services group, Mike Zeller provides his corporate transactional clients the accessibility, responsiveness, knowledge, and understanding of in-house counsel, coupled with the deep, full spectrum of the firm’s legal resources and cost- efficiencies.

Mike gives his regional, national and international clients passionate, straightforward counsel in general corporate representation, mergers and acquisitions, franchising, inbound and outbound international trade. He represents companies both as franchisors and franchisees. A significant portion of Mike's practice involves the implementation of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and transactions involving ESOP companies. In this regard, Mike represents both corporations and institutional trustees.

He focuses on instilling confidence in his clients by:

• Handling their requests with all possible attention and high professionalism.
• Understanding their goals fully.
• Using realistic and timely communication.
• Providing options that best accomplish their desired outcomes.

From 1997 to 2007, Mike served as local counsel to CIT Small Business Lending Corporation. He also represents clients as borrowers in connection with major corporate acquisitions, reorganizations, plant expansions and increased working-capital needs.

Fluent in German and formerly associated with DROSTE, a prominent Hamburg, Germany, law firm, he assists foreign clients, with a large focus on German and German-speaking companies, in establishing business relations or subsidiaries in the United States. Mike advises United States-based clients on the development of trading opportunities abroad, joint venture agreements, distributor and agency agreements, sales representative agreements, and licensing agreements.

Mike’s client services include:

• Asset acquisitions and divestitures
• Capitalization transactions
• Corporate governance
• Employee stock ownership plans
• Entity formation/governance
• Franchising
• General corporate counsel
• International business/trade
• Joint ventures and strategic alliances
• Leveraged buyouts
• Licensing, distribution and general contract matters
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Preferred and common stock placements
• Private equity, venture capital
• Shareholder agreements
• Stock agreements
• Stock option plans and restricted stock agreements