Christopher E. Nyenhuis

Hilger Hammond is proud to announce the promotion of Jeremy Orenstein, Chad Antuma, and Andy Hilger to partner, marking a significant milestone in our firm’s growth. These three “hungry, humble, and smart” leaders bring a unique blend of construction-site grit and litigation expertise to help guide our firm into its next chapter.

We’re pleased to welcome Jenna Fagerman to Hilger Hammond, where she officially joined the firm on December 1, 2025.

After building her legal career in Chicago at leading national law firms, Jenna returns to West Michigan with extensive experience in complex civil litigation, arbitration, and strategic business advising.

Governor Whitmer recently signed legislation amending the Michigan Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA). The amendment clarifies specific MRTA exceptions and provides property owners an extended deadline to record a “Notice of Claim” to retain property interests such as easements or restrictions that do not fall within the amendment’s exceptions. Learn about the three key changes in this amendment and how they could affect your business interests.

When an OTS (“Other-than-Serious”) citation is issued, it can be tempting to view it as a cost of doing business and simply pay the relatively low penalty amount and move on. However, employers should always consider the merits of the citation and the likelihood your company could be cited again for the same conduct.

In today’s dynamic business environment, prioritizing workplace safety is not just about adhering to regulations but also ensuring your employees avoid catastrophic injuries and make it home at the end of the day. Secondly, it is a fundamental aspect of responsible business operations and a crucial driver of long-term success.

In the summer of 2025, we had the pleasure of welcoming a dynamite intern – Tyler Penlerick. Here is his “report” of how he spent his summer internship.

We are honored to have had several Hilger Hammond attorneys receive some of the top Michigan awards recognizing legal excellence in 2025. Learn more about who won and for what here.

On July 7, Judge James Robert Redford issued an Order staying implementation of the Residential Building Code and Michigan Uniform Energy Code updates. The proposed updates in question were aiming to increase energy efficiency in homes. Learn more about the allegations of improper “cost-effective” analysis and the implications it could have on single family home construction.

On Wednesday, July 9, 2025 the Michigan Supreme Court affirmed the Michigan Court of Appeals’ ruling from July of 2023 “by equal division of the Court”, meaning that a majority of the Justices did not reach a common basis for resolution. This leaves the Court of Appeals decision intact and binding, which had held that private lake community restrictions prohibiting property owners from using their properties as short-term rentals (Melvin R. Berlin Revocable Trust et al. v. Thomas C. Rubin et al.).

Proposed Senate Bill 49 revises various sections of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (Act), including §33, the section that addresses the time frame by which MIOSHA must issue a citation after an inspection. Unfortunately, SB 49, does nothing to nail down the outside limits of when MIOSHA must issue a citation, only further muddying that question.

Changes to the enforceability and reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act are evolving monthly! In this blog post, Hilger Hammond attorneys Jill Miller and Ron Reynolds track, evaluate, and explain these changes in real-time and provide legal insight into how they could affect your business operations.