Our
Attorneys
We are extremely proud of the highly skilled and dedicated professionals that are the heart of Bellanca, Beattie & DeLisle. They, and our marvelous support staff and administrators, are the reason we succeed in providing exceptionally effective and cost efficient solutions to the matters entrusted to us.
We also take pride in our attorney's client service methods - disciplined and client driven. Those methods are apparent in the way we interact with you. The questions we ask. The way we listen. The confidence we have in our work.
We focus on what's important to you. A prompt, effective and cost efficient solution to the matter you've brought to us.
When you need help with a legal matter, contact a Bellanca, Beattie & DeLisle attorney. You'll have the comfort and satisfaction of working with one of this region's most highly regarded law firms. And - an individual you'll be proud to be associated with.
| Anthony J. Bellanca | Frank D. Eaman |
| James V. Bellanca, Jr. | Steven J. Grobbel |
| Costanzo Z. Lijoi | Joseph R. Kramer |
| James C. Zeman | James V. Bellanca III |
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Tony Bellanca is a Shareholder in the Firm. He is a Business and Corporate attorney with an especially powerful expertise in Real Estate Acquisition and Development. He is also a highly regarded Family Law attorney. Tony's Business and Corporate clients are sometimes described as small businesses - or, in legal terms as closely held  corporations.
Some of those clients are, in fact, small businesses. Others are substantial
and diverse. On his own, or in collaboration with his colleagues at
Bellanca, Beattie and DeLisle, Tony attends to virtually all of their
business legal needs as well as the personal matters of their owners
and executives.Tony has been helping clients acquire and develop real estate nearly his entire career. He is intimately familiar with the entire process of complex real estate development and is a powerful ally on behalf of developers. Tony's expertise in this area is widely recognized both within and outside the legal profession. For example, he served for over 15 years - 12 of those as Chairperson - on the Planning Commission for the City of St. Clair Shores and he served three years on the Macomb County Solid Waste Planning Commission. Tony is also counted among the top Family Law practitioners in the metropolitan area. Although he provides a full range of Family Law services, his particular expertise involves high profile divorces. Tony's credentials in this area are also well recognized by others. He serves as an appointed One Lawyer Mediator in Family Law for the Macomb County Circuit Court. He also Chairs the Macomb County Citizen Advisory Committee. In a biography of Tony, published in our firm's Newsletter, we wrote:
A truer statement was never written. |
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Jim Bellanca is a Shareholder in the Firm. He is a Business and Corporate attorney exceptionally skilled at helping clients manage and grow their businesses. He was the epitome of a pro active attorney long before those became buzz words in the legal profession. Jim understands the competitive and financial realities of the marketplace and his counsel reflects that knowledge. His expertise  includes:
business start ups, expansions and reductions; mergers, acquisitions
and divestitures; purchase and sales; buy sell agreements as well
as labor / management and other work force related issues.Jim says he's "especially proud of the long term relationships we've created with our clients. We've been in business over 65 years and we still represent the very first business client my father brought into this firm. We share a very real sense of accomplishment and confidence with our clients." As Counsel to the Board of Directors of the Associated Food Dealers of Michigan, a trade association representing the interests of grocery wholesalers and retailers, Jim has an especially powerful expertise involving all facets of the grocery industry. He works with all levels of government to benefit grocers and defends retailers in proceedings involving liquor, lottery and food stamp issues as well as local ordinance matters. Jim also has significant labor law experience involving public sector clients. He has served as Chief Labor Negotiator for the City of Hamtramck and represented the Oak Park Public Safety Officers Association in Act 312 arbitration proceedings. He has also served as special counsel to the City of Lincoln Park, the Wayne County Circuit Court and Wayne County. Jim also has a large Probate administration practice involving Guardianships, Conservatorships and Decedents Estates. That practice includes his responsibilities as Legal Counsel to the Consulate of Italy when residents of Italy are to receive part of an American resident's estate in a Probate proceeding. He is also "on call" to Michigan's Unemployment Agency as a contracted Administrative Law Judge hearing appeals of the Agency's Determinations. Jim has been appointed a receiver by Michigan's Liquor Control Commission to operate businesses licensed by them. He has also been appointed as an independent facilitator and arbitrator by judges in both the Wayne and Macomb County Circuit Courts. Jim earned his undergraduate degree from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. He graduated from the University of Detroit Law School, and was admitted to practice, in 1969. He served in the US Army Reserves until 1975, attaining the rank of Captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He is a former President of the Catholic Lawyers Society and has played a leadership role in the development of the Society's fund raising activities involving inner city schools and its other public benefit programs. Jim is also involved in numerous other civic, charitable and professional organizations. Top of Page |
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Cus Lijoi is a Shareholder in the Firm. He is a Labor and Employment attorney with a particularly powerful expertise in management side collective bargaining negotiations and labor arbitrations. He also represents management in proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board involving unfair labor practice claims and in union certification and decertification matters.  Cus has extensive experience defending a wide variety of discrimination based Wrongful Discharge actions. He is also especially skilled in claims involving violations of employment contracts as well as actions alleging retaliatory discharge. Cus also handles Workers Compensation claims on behalf of self insureds. He has completed advanced course work toward a Masters degree in Labor Law at Wayne State University's Law School. Cus also handles divorce proceedings and other domestic relations matters where substantial assets and complex property settlements are involved. Cus earned his undergraduate degree from Wayne State University. He graduated from the Detroit College of Law, was admitted to practice and joined Bellanca, Beattie & DeLisle in 1979. Prior to joining the Firm, he was an administrative officer in the Trust Department of the National Bank of Detroit, now Bank One. Top of Page |
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Jim Zeman is a Shareholder in the Firm. He is a Labor and Employment Law attorney serving a wide range of management clients. In addition to his Labor and Employment expertise, Jim has extensive experience in complex commercial litigation at the trial and appellate levels, including cases involving covenants not to compete.  Jim's Labor Law practice includes: collective bargaining negotiations; hundreds of labor arbitrations and litigation involving labor and employment issues. Jim's Employment Law practice includes defending discrimination and civil rights claims. He has defended numerous sexual harassment claims on behalf of both private and public sector clients, including community colleges. He also has extensive experience negotiating severance packages. Jim has served as Special Counsel on a variety of labor and civil rights matters for municipalities, most recently, Detroit, Hamtramck and Pontiac, Michigan. Prior to joining Bellanca, Beattie & DeLisle, Jim was appointed an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit serving as Counsel to the City's Labor Relations Department. Jim earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, and was admitted to practice, in 1970. He was the founding Director of the Wayne County Juvenile Defenders Office and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Legal Aid and Defender Association of Detroit. Jim has also represented the Wayne County Probate Court in litigation involving the Wayne County Youth Home. Top of Page |
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Joe Kramer is a Shareholder in the Firm. He is a Business and Corporate attorney with an especially powerful expertise in Small Business Administration 504 loans. He is Closing Counsel to three SBA Certified Development Companies which are authorized to place 504 loans in Wayne and Macomb Counties and other outstate and western Michigan areas. 
Joe also provides valued counsel to business clients. He helps with making the right choice of business entity and its creation and provides continuing counsel in operational matters and meeting documentation and reporting requirements. Joe is a highly regarded real estate attorney representing both buyers and sellers in the purchase and sale of residential property. He also has a strong Tax Law expertise involving both individual and estate tax matters and prepares many personal and estate tax returns. In addition, Joe does Estate Planning, from simple Wills through complex Trust arrangements and has extensive experience in Probate administration. "Basically, I help my clients keep their business and personal matters on the same page. My client is the small to medium business owner that I've helped to start a business. They need to make sure their company is set up correctly, its transactions are properly documented and the proper reports are filed with the State. They buy and sell homes, they need their taxes done right, they need good Estate planning and they need an attorney that can work well with their other professional advisors like their CPA's and financial planners. That's what I do and I love doing it." In addition to his extensive 504 loan practice and his work as a Business and Corporate attorney and counselor, Joe is a contracted Administrative Law Judge for Michigan's Unemployment Agency and is "on call" to handle disputed unemployment claims. Joe earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Detroit and was admitted to practice in 1969. Top of Page |
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Frank Eaman is a Shareholder in the Firm. He is a Criminal and Civil trial attorney. He's gained his considerable reputation from his criminal practice. Frank has handled innumerable felony cases in State and Federal court, including some of the most dramatic, high visibility criminal trials in recent history. In fact, few Michigan attorneys have comparable experience with the kinds of cases that  attract
intense media attention. Frank's skill in dealing with them is widely
recognized. In fact, he is a frequent lecturer, before state and national
lawyer, judge and media groups, on the problems associated with highly
publicized criminal trials."The risk is that the media can sensationalize those cases and prejudice potential and actual jurors. It's also a threatening distraction from mounting and pursuing a vigorous defense." Frank is never distracted from mounting and pursuing a vigorous defense. In a recent Federal court "organized crime" trial, for example, six defendants, each represented by separate counsel, were tried on numerous Counts. The trial played out daily on front pages and the evening news for four months. Five of the six defendants were convicted. Frank's client was acquitted on all Counts. Most people know Frank as a criminal defense attorney, but some of his greatest successes have come on behalf of injured clients. He has recovered millions of dollars for people who have lost spouses in airplane crashes, become paralyzed - or lost a child - because of a doctor's negligence, been injured at nursing homes or injured because of police misconduct. Frank also defends other professionals such as doctors, lawyers and judges. He has been lead counsel on behalf of Bar Associations that successfully sought to increase the fees paid to lawyers that represent poor people. Frank earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, and was admitted to practice, in 1971. He joined Bellanca, Beattie & DeLisle as a shareholder in 1988. He has taught and lectured throughout Michigan at programs and seminars for criminal defense lawyers. Frank has been a champion of underrepresented persons his entire career. He has received numerous awards for his volunteer efforts involving the legal representation of poor people, including the prestigious Arthur VonBreisen Award from the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association. Top of Page |
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Steve Grobbel is an Associate attorney with the Firm. He is a trial attorney handling both civil and criminal cases. His civil trial experience includes a broad range of matters from collections to complex commercial litigation. Steve also provides discovery, pre-trial and trial support for other Bellanca, Beattie & DeLisle attorneys in complex business disputes. 
Steve's criminal experience includes the defense of misdemeanor and non capital felony cases. He also handles OUIL's and traffic offenses and supports the Firm's senior criminal attorneys in investigations, discovery and pre trial matters involving major criminal cases. He has also recently been active in seeking the release of prisoners subject to paroleable life sentences who have been denied meaningful parole consideration. Steve handles Plaintiff personal injury and negligence cases including police misconduct matters. He also handles Worker's Compensation matters for self insureds and self insured groups. Steve is very active in community activities as well as what attorneys call pro bono work, which involves providing free legal service for poor people. As part of the Lawyer / Teacher Partnership, he has, for several years, worked with Fifth grade students at Washington Elementary School in Mt. Clemens. As a volunteer pro bono advocate with Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, Steve provides free legal advice and service for victims of domestic violence. Steve earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan. He graduated from the University of Illinois Law School in 1989. He is admitted to practice in both Michigan and Illinois. Top of Page |
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James V. Bellanca III is an Associate Attorney with the Firm. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communications at Miami University. Jim graduated, cum laude, from Wayne State University’s School of Law, passed the Bar exam and joined the Firm in 2002. During Law School, he clerked for Wayne County Circuit Court Judge James J. Rashid. 
The Firm’s Business, Corporate and Real Estate attorneys look
to Jim for support involving research, drafting and documentation
on a wide range of transactional matters. He has also handled several
literary use agreements and entertainment venue contracts. Jim’s interest in Sports and Entertainment Law stems from his extensive experience in Detroit’s entertainment community. Prior to Law School, he worked with the Detroit Actor’s Guild for several years helping to produce such notable Detroit productions as: The All Night Strut ( holiday edition ), Beehive and Shear Madness. Jim was also the Associate Producer of the first Detroit production of Tony and Tina’s Wedding. Jim is the third generation of Bellancas – in fact, the third James V. Bellanca – to be admitted to the Michigan Bar. He follows his grandfather and father in practice with this Firm. Top of Page |
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