Change of pace: Business attorney draws on past consulting experience

By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News

Attorney Nick Chapie started his career life with an undergraduate degree in supply chain management from Michigan State University where a curriculum involving accounting, finance, marketing, and logistics was a good fit for his goals.

After graduation, he became a senior consultant for Alaris Consulting (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP) in Chicago, assisting Fortune 1000 companies throughout the U.S. and Europe, focusing on management, strategy, operations, and process improvement.

The work involved about 90 percent travel, which started to take a toll.

“It was time for a change and if I was going to do it, I had to make a move,” Chapie says.

He mulled earning an MBA, or going to dental school, but in the end decided a law degree was the best route.

A graduate of Detroit Mercy Law School, Chapie worked for law firms in Detroit, Birmingham, Troy and Bloomfield Hills, before joining Howard & Howard in March 2018.

He is now a partner and business attorney with Howard & Howard in Royal Oak, focusing his practice on corporate law, real estate law, finance, employment matters and business transactions —all while drawing on his past experience.

“A lot of the consulting work I did focused on management and strategy and process improvement for large companies — having that experience naturally pushed me in a direction to handle the issues companies are most commonly faced with,” he says.

“I had a great internship at Pulte Homes and got exposed to all areas of corporate law. I wasn’t stuck doing the same thing day after day, which fit my personality well. I knew corporate law would provide that mix of work and every day would be a new day, yet still focused enough to gain expert knowledge.

“Regardless of size, I approach each transaction or file pragmatically, such that my client receives exactly what they are looking for without all of the extras that typically bog a deal down.” 

Named a “Rising Star” by Michigan Super Lawyers for five consecutive years, Chapie represents small to medium sized privately held companies, private equity firms, investors, mortgage lenders, and financial institutions. He has a broad range of experience spanning a variety of industries both domestic and international including, corporate business transactions related to mergers and acquisitions in asset sales and purchases, stock sales and purchases, and real estate acquisitions and divestments. He also represents local, regional and national financial institutions in structuring and documenting loan transactions. Additionally, he represents a number of companies as outside general counsel assisting in their day-to-day needs.

A native of Grosse Pointe Woods, Chapie now makes his home in Bloomfield Hills, with his wife Alix, 7-year-old son Beckett, 4-year-old daughter Elle, and a 4-year-old Golden Retriever named Charlie.

In addition to being a Little League baseball coach, Chapie enjoys working out, the outdoors, cooking/smoking food, wine, and travel.

“And, according to my wife, I play a lot of golf and watch a lot of sports,” he says with a smile.


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