Richard Walawender is a lawyer in Miller  Canfield's Corporate Group, leads the firm's Autonomous and Connected  Vehicles practice team, and plays an essential role in the firm's  International practice. He also served as a managing director of the firm  from 2001 to 2003. 

Corporate  Law

His practice specialties include mergers and  acquisitions, corporate and commercial law, corporate governance and  securities, private equity, venture capital, equity and debt financing,  international transactions and joint ventures, project finance, and  franchising.

His clients  include publicly traded companies, private equity and hedge funds, financial  institutions, privately held companies, start-ups, and technology ventures.  He acts as general counsel for several clients, and special corporate counsel  to domestic and international companies, and represents many clients in  structuring their cross-border operations and closing transactions.

Automotive  Industry

As a leader of the firm's Automotive  Practice, Richard coordinates the firm's attorneys specializing in the full  range of legal issues affecting clients involved in the automotive industry.  He has a wealth of experience in representing both strategic (OEM and tier  suppliers) as well as private equity clients on automotive industry  transactions, including mergers, dispositions, acquisitions, Section 363  acquisitions in bankruptcy, joint ventures and alliances, contract drafting  negotiations and disputes, licensing, recapitalizations and refinancings, and  distressed supplier/customer dealings. More recently, he has spearheaded the  firm's representation of traditional auto companies as well as new software  companies entering into the exciting autonomous vehicle sector of the auto  industry and has led the effort to establish Miller Canfield as a legal  pioneer in this area. 

International

As a leader in the firm's International  Practice he has also been the lead attorney on numerous multinational M&A  transactions for U.S., Canadian, European, Asian, Mexican, and other non-U.S.  clients. He co-founded the firm's Polish partnership in 1991 and served as  the lead attorney on the first corporate commercial paper issuance of a U.S.  company in Eastern Europe, as well as on the establishment and capitalization  of Solidarity Bank, one of the first private commercial banks in Poland. He  frequently advises clients on outbound and inbound investment structuring and  strategies, international joint ventures and strategic alliances, as well as  FCPA, CFIUS, export controls, and other cross-border issues and disputes. His  practice involves international law generally, but he has especially focused  on Emerging Market economies, including the BRIC countries, Mexico, Eastern  Europe, and Korea. 

• Best Lawyers in America, International Trade and Finance Law, 2012-present; Mergers & Acquisitions Law, 2013-present; Detroit Lawyer of the Year, International Trade and Finance Law, 2018, 2022 & 2024
• Michigan Super Lawyers, Mergers & Acquisitions, 2009-2023
• Leading Lawyers, Corporate Finance Law, International Business & Trade Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Publicly Held Corporations Law, 2014–present
• DBusiness Magazine, Top Lawyers, Commercial Law, International Trade Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, 2010-present
• European Legal Experts 2010, Real Estate and Corporate + M&A
• Crain's Detroit Business, "90 for the 90s," 1990

• American Bar Association
• International Bar Association
• State Bar of Michigan
• New York State Bar Association
• U.S.-Poland Business Council
• U.S.-India Business Council
• Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Detroit, 2018-present
• Consular Corps of Michigan, Vice Dean, 2022-present
• Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Audit Committee Chair, 2018-present
• The Emerging Opal, Board of Directors