Vern Steffel

Contact Information:

Of Counsel
VSteffel@kehb.com
vCard

Education:

  • Ohio Northern University, JD

Assistant

Thelma Brown
(269) 441-4517
TBrown@kehb.com

As a trusted lawyer and veteran business advisor, Vern Steffel has been actively engaged in the private practice of civil law in Battle Creek for over four decades. Continuously rated by Martindale Hubbell as AV Preeminent for over 35 years, Vern is also listed among numerous Who’s Who publications for his legal prowess in various business law disciplines. His general civil practice includes representing individuals, corporations, LLCs, PCs, and various entities involved in the full spectrum of commercial law matters.

Vern’s experience ranges from buying and selling business operations to lien perfections, enforcement actions, and civil litigation of monetary disputes of all kinds, including receiverships, trusteeships, and other ancillary court-related civil matters. He advises on business dissolutions, business buy-sell agreements, and the full range of various legal matters involving internal and external business activities. Vern is also involved in real property matters such as buy-sell agreements, land contracts, mortgages, and general real estate issues, including title defects, title insurance claims, riparian rights, and boundary disputes.

Notably, Vern has significant experience advising on estate and wealth preservation matters ranging from general probate to complex trust work. Throughout his career, Vern has also been involved in select personal injury matters and in overseeing malpractice claims. He also advises on credentialing issues and other claims involving insurance and potential insurance excess of coverage claims and oversight, including all types of contractual matters, from drafting to enforcement.

With experience in both litigation and transactional law, Vern is highly skilled in drafting multi-million-dollar agreements that keep his clients out of court and away from expensive litigation. His personal attention to and interest in achieving specific client objectives is reflected in a select clientele, many of whom have spanned the course of his career.

A Calhoun County Bar Association member, Vern served as an officer for many years. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, American Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, and other professional associations. Vern currently serves as board chairman of the Calhoun County Hearing Panel for the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board for the State Bar of Michigan and served on that panel and as board chair for several years. Furthermore, Vern spent over thirty years on the board of directors of the Y Center of Battle Creek and the Sherman Lake Outdoor Y Center and helped form the latter organization. Over the years, he served as the board chair of both organizations.

Before joining Kries Enderle, Vern was the senior member of the Steffel & Steffel law firm, which opened in 1978.