Photos courtesy of Stephen Hilger
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
When choosing a career, it came as no surprise that Stephen Hilger was intrigued by the practice of law, particularly given his family lineage.
Hilger’s grandfather was a well-known criminal defense attorney in Germany, defending opponents of the Nazi regime—and ultimately landing in jail until World War II ended. His uncle also was a criminal defense attorney.
But Hilger—a founder and shareholder in the Grand Rapids firm of Hilger Hammond PC— originally planned to enter the medical field.
After earning his undergrad degree in chemistry from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Hilger headed to Case Western Reserve University College of Law in Cleveland, with the goal of attending law school, followed by medical school.
“When I started college, my plan was to be a doctor. I did the entire pre-med program, took the MCATs, applied, and only had to go through the final interview,” he says. “But, I experienced something working at a hospital that made me reevaluate the whole process. I never ended up going to medical school as I was broke and needed to get started.
“I also was fascinated by litigation from working as a law clerk on a complicated tax refund suit for the New York Yankees.”
Launching his law career as an associate with Gray Harris & Robinson in Orlando, Hilger was presented with a case involving the Epcot Center and both the American and Mexican pavilions—and needed to quickly learn the Florida Construction Lien law.
“Then, I had to tell the client they failed to preserve their lien rights,” he says. “That client was grateful for the straight advice and gave me another project—a three-story addition to the Winter Haven Hospital. My construction law career was off and running.
“I enjoy the field because it can be extraordinarily complex. I enjoy both the academic and the factual challenges. I also enjoy the people in the industry—they are my kind of people. I feel that way even today.”
After practicing 9 years in Florida, Hilger moved to Grand Rapids in 1990—where one of his first cases involved the Eastbank Waterfront Towers, in which he represented the Downtown Development Authority, Dow Chemical, and later The Bouma Corp.
“It was a great way to get introduced and immersed into the construction bar here,” he says. “While most of my cases have taken me out of state, I’ve worked on large water treatment facilities, bridges, roads, tunnels, commercial and industrial buildings, institutional buildings, educational facilities, and a broad range of construction projects.”
After more than 18 years with a Grand Rapids firm, Hilger in 2008 launched a solo practice.
“I really enjoy the pace of a solo practice. But, I like people more, and I simply had way more work than I could handle,” he says. “So, I moved into an office on Monroe Center and added Ben Hammond. Then, the firm began.
“We began as a construction law firm but we’ve broadened our base to work in areas of real estate, corporations, business law and estate planning as those are areas we find our clients need assistance.”
Hilger also is active in mediating and arbitrating complex commercial and construction law and related cases; and has completed the Construction Dispute Resolution Specialist Arbitration Training Course and CDRS Dispute Review Board Training Course.
“Mediation is important because many times, parties simply need to vent—they need someone to hear their story,” he says. “Until they vent, they can’t get closure. As a mediator, I like to help people get to that point. And, it helps with the high costs of litigation.
“Arbitration is important as it provides an expeditious process for handling disputes, particularly of a specialized nature. As a construction and commercial arbitrator for more than 25 years, I’ve seen a lot of different disputes. When you couple that with my own experience, my experience allows parties to resolve their disputes without having to educate me on all the nuances of construction or commercial litigation.”
Hilger is engaged in complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on construction law and has tried many cases in multiple state courts; and has appeared in state courts of appeal, the Michigan Supreme Court, United States District Courts, United States District Courts of Appeal, the United States Supreme Court, and multiple arbitration tribunals across the country.
Named to The Fellows of the Michigan State Bar, Hilger has been named a Super Lawyer since 2006; named to The Best Lawyers in America USA Today since 2007; is an AV rated Attorney by Martindale & Hubbell; and in 2014 was named a Leader in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
He has shared his experience by teaching Business Law as an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida; taught legal writing at Case Western College of Law; and taught at WMU-Cooley Law School.
“I’ve always enjoyed teaching,” he says. “It’s a way to give back to the community and I truly enjoy watching and helping people learn.”
He particularly enjoys the challenge of high stakes “Bet-the-company” litigation.
“I’m an ultra-competitive individual and know how to compete—so, I think I have a lot of experience managing stress at that level which is a vital requirement for that type of litigation,” he says. “I’ve seen a lot of people crash and burn because they can’t manage that level of stress. I also enjoy helping people out when they truly need my services.”
That competitive spirit is also evident in his passion for archery, garnering Hilger many awards.
His initiation into the sport started as a bit of a lark. As a freshman at the University of Florida, Hilger needed to complete a physical education credit, and thought archery sounded fun. When Hilger took the class and started posting excellent scores, the teacher wanted him to join the archery team. However, when he went to a practice, saw the gear, and found out it would cost about $1,500 in 1976 dollars, the penurious student quickly nixed the idea.
Fast forward several years. When his son was 5 years old, Hilger bought him a bow, and then bought a bow for himself—and posted his first perfect 300/300 later that year.
He then started competing in archery—and never looked back.
Hilger currently holds eight national records (one is arguably a world record), multiple national titles, multiple state titles, made the United States Archery Team in the Olympic Masters division on 2020, currently is on the United States Archery Team in the Compound Masters Division for 2022, and will compete in the Pan Am Games in June.
The sport has also been a boon to his legal work.
“To compete at this level, you need a strong mental game,” he says. “I’ve been studying that for years. The tools I use for my mental game in Archery transcend to business and I believe have contributed to my success.”
In addition to his skills as a bowman, Hilger also is an avid nature, wildlife and landscape photographer; and fronts two bands: The Steve Hilger Band, a blues-based band; and The Steve Hilger Jazz Quintet; and previously served on the boards of the West Michigan Jazz Society and the Grand Rapids Jazz Festival.
He also previously served on the board of the Associated Builders & Contractors; was a charter board member of the American Subcontractors Association of West Michigan; and has served on the Legal Advisory Board for the Associated General Contractors of Michigan.
Hilger and his family live in Cannonsburg, about 10 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.
“I’ve watched Grand Rapids grow into a vibrant community,” he says. “It’s a great place to live. I truly enjoy Lake Michigan as well as the inland lakes, the woods, and the fact that 25 minutes out of Grand Rapids you can be in the woods or a farming community. It’s been a wonderful place to raise kids and a place that can best be described as ‘comfortable.’”
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