Stemple’s passion for ESOP transactions bears fruit for WNJ practice

Stemple’s passion for ESOP transactions bears fruit for WNJ practice

Buoyed by a rise in popularity of employee stock ownership plans among business owners, deal attorney Justin Stemple wrapped up the second busiest year of transactions he’s had in his 18-year career at Grand Rapids-based Warner Norcross + Judd LLP.

Stemple worked on a total of 28 transactions involving manufacturers, distributors, mechanical contractors, construction companies, retailers, engineering firms, architectural firms and professional services agencies. In those diverse deals, 10 of which involved Michigan companies, Stemple represented either the company or ESOP trustee as counsel. 

ESOPs are typically driven by legacy company owners who don’t have a successor in place. While ESOPs yield great benefits, they are regulated by the IRS and the Department of Labor, adding a layer of complexity beyond a traditional business sale. 

Because of this complexity, Stemple says his role is essential to educate business owners on how ESOPs work when the deals are taking place. 

DEALMAKER OF THE YEAR  Adviser

Justin Stemple

Partner, Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

  • Since joining the firm in 2023, Stemple has focused his practice on qualified retirement plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and executive compensation, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), incentive programs and equity compensation. He frequently works with clients in construction, distribution, manufacturing, mechanical contracting and professional services. 

“For some people, it can be overwhelming and the educational piece can be a challenge. But I enjoy that part, and I think that is where we can add value,” said Stemple, who an independent panel of judges named the winner of the 2023 MiBiz Dealmaker of the Year Award in the adviser category.

The traction with ESOP deals results from years of focusing on his passion in his practice. He notes that when he started as a corporate lawyer, ESOPs were just a small part of his work.

“Over the years, I focused a lot of my energy to where I wanted to grow my practice in these,” Stemple said. “And so what I’m doing now is bearing the fruit of really investing in what my interests were, rather than what I felt like I was forced to do.”

Specifically, Stemple’s area of passion and practice includes retirement plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and executive compensation, with a particular emphasis on ESOPs, incentive programs and equity compensation.

Stemple joined Warner Norcross in 2004 after earning his J.D. from William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Va., and was named partner in the firm in 2012. He says he was drawn to law for the opportunity to solve complex problems with logic.

“Law is generally complex situations, logic games and problem-solving in an interesting way that I thought would be fun to tackle,” Stemple said. “Before you’re a lawyer, you only know what you see about law from movies or TV. I ended up practicing in an area I knew nothing about before I actually went to law.”

He especially enjoys working on ESOP deals, as everyone is negotiating toward a common goal and looking at the bigger picture together.

“West Michigan is just a wonderful place to have any such practice,” Stemple said. “We have wonderful business owners who are very comfortable giving back to their employees and their community and view this as a very successful transaction for them if it keeps the business locally owned and keeps the employees working.”

He credits part of his successful year to the firm’s collaborative environment.

“It’s very easy here to get your partners and others that you work with to help on projects not to compete internally for work or credit, but to do right by the clients,” Stemple said. “It makes going to work so much better.”

When working on multiple deals at once, Stemple emphasizes simple record-keeping and delegating a team of associates to each project. 

“It’s much easier to have different people on different teams working on each deal so that you can keep them straight,” he said. “And I’m a little bit old school in that I like paper. So, I keep piles of paper in my office to keep everything aligned.”

The increase in the volume of deals he has worked on is partly due to building a network of contacts in West Michigan and beyond. 

“That relationship building has really expanded my practice,” he said. 

Looking ahead, Stemple said 2023 is gearing up to be another big year. 

“I’m looking forward to continuing to work on ESOPs. The market, I think, is going to be just as strong this year,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to bringing along some of the team that I work with because I think they’re the future of the practice, and I’m enjoying the training and bringing them along.”