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Ralph Castelli’s practice involves him in a wide variety of business planning and structuring situations, exit planning, shareholder and partner separations and the entire gamut of real estate and business transactions. In addition, Mr. Castelli successfully served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Kemp Klein for 26 years.. Mr. Castelli represents many closely-held businesses and he has developed expertise in transactions involving business expansion or reduction, loan transactions, acquisitions and sales, and reorganizations. Due to the nature of his practice and clientele, he has become adept at representing family businesses and addressing complex issues that the intertwining of family and business often entail.. Mr. Castelli is a board member of the Kemp Klein Foundation which sponsors Common Ground and many other local and national charitable causes.. Mr. Castelli served as Mayor of the City of Pleasant Ridge for 20 years and on the City Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. Also, he served on the Pleasant Ridge Planning Commission from 1985 to 1988, including a term as chair. He was elected to the Pleasant Ridge City Commission in 1988. He was a member, and past president, of the South Oakland County Mayor’s Association and was a past member of the Board of Directors of the Woodward Avenue Action Association.

Robert counsels and represents public and private companies, entrepreneurs, venture capital and private equity groups, boards of directors and business owners on matters related to corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, private placements, private equity, securities, tax, commercial and private lending (senior, mezzanine and subordinated credit facilities), corporate governance (counsel to corporate officers and board members) and related business law matters.. Additionally, Robert advises clients in the areas of strategic business and tax planning, entity selection and formation, contract drafting and negotiation, and structuring, negotiating, drafting and completing purchase, sale, finance, and restructuring transactions.. He is frequently honored by peers and ranking organizations for outstanding accomplishment in the field of corporate law, including most recently being named the 2016 “M&A Attorney of the Year” by the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG).. Representative Transactions:Sale of equity interests in a National Basketball Association team and sports arena to a U.S. based private equity group.Sale of U.S. based aerospace tooling manufacturing companies to U.K. based publicly traded company.. Sale of pharmacy benefit management company to NASDAQ listed company.. Acquisition of software licensing company by world's leading mainframe-dedicated software company.Recapitalization and acquisition of controlling interest in U.S. based publicly traded company by European based private equity group.Acquisition of division of NYSE listed company engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling medical products and devices.Sale of equity interests in affiliated group of companies engaged in the business of owning and operating manufactured housing communities located throughout U.S. to publicly traded REIT.Recapitalization of NASDAQ listed financial services company engaged in the business of providing and servicing loans used to finance commercial real estate and manufactured homes.Sale of software licensing company to NASDAQ listed software licensing and networking company.Sale of equity interests in a food industry equipment manufacturing company with world-wide operations to strategic buyer.Recapitalization and refinancing of affiliated companies engaged in the business of inter-coastal oil barging.Sale of regional industrial roofing companies to roofing industry consolidator in roll-up transaction.Acquisition of manufacturer and distributor of aluminum extrusions with national operations by private equity group.Sale of equity interests in manufacturer and distributor of optical lens and optical lens coatings to publicly traded strategic buyer.Recapitalization and financing of automotive leather supplier with international operations.Recapitalization and acquisition of controlling interest in U.S. based machine tool manufacturing company by China based equipment manufacturing company with world-wide operations.

Richard’s practice includes: helping venture capitalists, angel investors and entrepreneurs negotiate and close funding rounds; representing buyers and sellers in merger and acquisition transactions; creating advisory boards for his entrepreneurial clients; providing “strategic legal advice” and, helping family-owned businesses survive and thrive.. Richard’s ideal clients include: 1) High potential entrepreneurs with a “change the world” business who need a sophisticated, efficient deal lawyer to help them navigate stages of growth. 2) Successful businessmen and women who are presented with the opportunity for a “great deal,” but aren’t sure where to begin to get the deal done. 3) Power users of legal services (second stage entrepreneurs whose business model often requires frequent use of a lawyer) who can experience lower fees and better quality legal services through a relationship-based fixed fee pricing model.. Richard has handled hundreds of early stage companies/funding rounds during his 35+ years of practice. In the past six years he has handled 38 funding rounds since coming to Kemp Klein – about one every other month. Since a funding round takes 60-90 days to close, there has seldom been a time when he hasn’t been working on at least one funding deal during this period, often two or more at the same time.. Richard says, “This work is the most satisfying work that I do. The investors and entrepreneurs that I represent literally ‘change the world’ through the products and services they bring to the market.”. Richard serves as counsel to Plymouth Venture Partners I, LLC (a $20 million early stage investment fund), Plymouth Venture Partners II, LP (a $40 million venture fund), Plymouth Venture Partners III, LP (a $60 million venture fund) and Plymouth Growth Partners IV (a $40 million venture fund); he has also served as counsel to two funds out of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business (The Frankel Fund, led by Professor Tom Porter, and the Social Venture Fund, led by Gautam Kaul, Ph.D.).. Prior to joining the Kemp Klein Law Firm, Richard founded and for 7 years served as managing partner of his own law firm, Enterprise Law Partners, PLLC. Prior to forming Enterprise Law Partners, PLLC, Richard spent 20 years as a senior partner at a prominent business law firm in the metro Detroit area. While at that firm, Richard was a member of the firm’s corporate practice group primarily advising clients on corporate finance transactions as well as mergers and acquisitions activities. His specialty areas included traditional bank financing, mezzanine lending, venture capital, seed and start-up financing, mergers, stock and asset deals as well as leveraged recapitalizations of family-owned businesses.. In his earlier years, Richard practiced law for five years at one of the largest law firms in downtown Detroit, where he engaged in a general practice, representing clients including the Detroit Lions, the Ford Family Foundation, Comerica Bank as well as a variety of other business entities.