Detroit’s Miller Canfield Adds Jessica Wood in Grand Rapids

CHICAGO — Detroit-based Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone PLC, Michigan’s top bond counsel firm, has hired a new attorney for its Grand Rapids office.

Jessica Wood, 40, joins Miller Canfield from Law Weathers PC, a Grand Rapids-based general practices firm, where she practiced public finance law for the last eight years.

She joins 16 attorneys at the Miller Canfield office. The firm’s public finance team now totals 28 attorneys.

The hire is part of the firm’s west Michigan expansion.

Wood said she will continue to focus her practice on cities, villages, townships, libraries, and tax increment financings

“I grew up in west Michigan and wanted to raise my family here,” Wood said. “I’m really excited about having access to the resources at Miller Canfield. They have the most depth of experience and knowledge.”

Wood said the municipal market in west Michigan remains strong, with most issuers interested in Build America Bonds and other federal stimulus programs. “That’s the surge we’ve seen lately,” she said.

The hire comes three months after the firm tapped long-time public finance attorney Amanda Van Dusen to lead the public finance group.

“We welcome Jessica and her depth of knowledge,” Van Dusen said in a statement. “She enhances our existing capabilities and allows us to continue to expand our bond practice in west Michigan.”

In addition to Detroit and Grand Rapids, Miller Canfield maintains offices in Lansing, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and Chicago.

Miller Canfield has 370 attorneys in offices in Michigan, Illinois, Florida, New York, Ohio, and internationally.

The firm is Michigan’s top-ranked bond counsel, last year working on a total of $2.9 billion of volume on 103 transactions, according to Thomson Reuters. It ranked ninth in the Midwest last year, down from fourth in 2008.

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