JEFFREY FRANK, shareholder and accomplished litigator, matches his formidable advocacy skills with a depth and breadth of surety subject matter knowledge that has earned him a reputation as one of Michigan’s premier practitioners in this complex and consequential area of the law. Jeff’s lengthy track record of successful outcomes extends across a broad range of commercial, construction, and probate disputes. However, his immersive understanding of the unique business, financial, and practical considerations involved in surety claims and litigation makes him an indispensable ally for all parties whose interests are implicated when performance or payment hangs in the balance.
Recognizing that litigation can be a blunt, if sometimes unavoidable, instrument for resolving surety, commercial, and construction disputes, Jeff always seeks resolutions that bring matters to a close or move projects forward in the most expeditious and efficient manner possible. Sometimes, that imperative means leveraging his battle-tested courtroom talents and argumentative agility. Other situations may be more suited to Jeff’s diplomatic and collaborative inclinations, which allow him to find common ground among stakeholders with wildly different or competing interests. Regardless of the road he takes, Jeff is relentless when advancing or defending his clients’ interests.
Jeff’s ability to incorporate different perspectives in pursuing an advantageous client result is partly a product of having represented all constituencies involved in large projects and handling a wide spectrum of construction, commercial, and surety-related claims, investigations, risk analyses, and negotiations. Leveraging and enhancing Maddin Hauser’s well-established and robust construction law capabilities, Jeff works closely with sureties, contractors and subcontractors, owners and owners’ representatives, and indemnitors in all levels of bond claims and litigation. He often serves as tender counsel in addition to his individual representation of sureties.
With experience handling probate litigation throughout Michigan, Jeff is also particularly well-versed in probate bond claims, representing sureties when a fiduciary fails to fulfill his or her duties or engages in malfeasance. In fact, Jeff is the editor of two editions of The Law of Probate Bonds, a book that serves as the primary reference for those in the surety industry.
Clients are not the only ones to benefit from Jeff’s knowledge and experience. Judges frequently call upon him to provide targeted surety insights, and he is also a prolific writer and sought-after presenter on those topics. Jeff’s colleagues consistently recognize him for his professional accomplishments, including his designation as a Surety Law “Super Lawyer” year after year.
