Stuart Chipman-Bergsma

Stuart Chipman-Bergsma (“Chip”) provides legal representation and counsel for business clients, construction and development project owners, financial institutions, and insurance companies across Michigan and in Northern Indiana with a heavy focus in Kalamazoo and Southwest Michigan.

In business, Mr. Chipman-Bergsma advises clients in business formation and organization, project development, dental practice transitions and operations, commercial and residential lease negotiation and enforcement, employment litigation, employee benefits and executive compensation, real property law, real-estate litigation, creditor’s rights, commercial litigation, estate planning and commercial transactions. Mr. Chipman-Bergsma acts as external general counsel for companies who require coordination and management of their external legal resources.

In litigation, Mr. Chipman-Bergsma has represented clients through the trial court, Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court of Michigan, and in federal court. He has obtained favorable outcomes for his clients in cases involving breach of contract, commercial disputes, fraud and embezzlement, Michigan no-fault third party and first party disputes, consumer protection disputes, boating accidents, sports-related accidents, dog-bite, construction disputes, property damage claims, products liability, insurance subrogation, and eminent domain disputes. He also focuses his practice in representing credit unions to protect their members’ assets through civil actions, post-judgment collections, real-estate foreclosures, fraud investigation and recovery, representing creditors rights in bankruptcy proceedings, and regulatory compliance issues.

Mr. Chipman-Bergsma serves Southwest Michigan credit unions by providing regulatory compliance counsel, collections representation, and real estate foreclosure services. He has helped clients achieve excellent delinquency ratios and improve overall performance for their members.