Darren Malek

About Darren Malek

I am an attorney with a unique background including both complex transactional and litigation experience. I focus my practice on advising owner-operated businesses and professional practices on day-to-day business matters, contracts, mergers and acquisitions and litigation and dispute resolution. I have also developed a particular focus on dealing with high-dollar owner disputes, probate litigation, contract and commercial litigation. In dealing with those matters, I have also had a good deal of success in structuring alternative fee structures to permit my clients to pursue their claims without having to confront the question of \"how much justice can you afford.\" In doing so, I employ an aggressive but flexible and creative approach, with an emphasis on proactive measures, early strategic thinking, and practical solutions. I have also had the opportunity to identify and jointly prosecute class action matters, with substantial positive results. Specialties: Results-oriented hourly, contingency and hybrid billing litigation, focused on high-dollar disputes between owners, breach of contract matters and commercial collection. Advising entrepreneurs, including professional service providers and manufacturers, on day-to-day business matters, contract matters, contract and other disputes, business acquisitions and sales and other matters requiring personalized and practical advice. Advising and assisting discrete bank clients as well as borrowers with structuring of loans, negotiation of loan terms and, when difficulty arises, loan forbearance and collection. Working with real estate buyers, sellers and developers.

Experience

1. Attorney Managing Principal

   Veritas Law Group

   Feb 2008 — Present · Kalamazoo and South Haven, MI, US

   Veritas means \"truth\" in Latin and was chosen as a name as both an aspirational and philosophical statement. During a teaching moment in a Latin class I audited, Professor Ron Miller riffed on our College\'s motto taken from the Book of John, noting that he liked the idea of combining it with quote from Hamlet:\"to thine own self be true. and the truth shall set you free.\" It stuck with me, though I only recently understood the depth of what he was trying to convey. After graduating from DePaul, I had no inkling that I would ever start my own firm. Starting out, having lived and worked in Chicago, I thought that all great attorneys worked only in huge law firms with lobby\'s similar to the main floor of the Field Museum, complete with high ceilings, stone floors and the corresponding re-verb of your footsteps up to the disinterested receptionist. And I pursued my legal opportunities accordingly. Veritas was the fulfillment of a dream I didn\'t even recognize I had and is the career opportunity that has changed my life from top to bottom. When jumping from the relative predictability and safety of \"big law,\" a colleague told me that his one regret in his career was that he never built something. I\'ve thought about that often since then. I didn\'t know that I\'d be building myself and my character at the same time I was building a firm. I\'ve learned that when you build something in your own image, you get a pretty clear idea of your own talents - and flaws. As a result, I\'ve made a lot of adjustments in all aspects of my life and have grown substantially both personally and professionally. Simply put, practicing through Veritas gives me the opportunity to be of service to people - clients and the odd person that just finds their way to my door step - in a way I never thought possible. The firm started out in an interior office with a part time secretary and it has grown since then. I\'m looking forward to what\'s next and I\'m enjoying the ride.

Education

• Lake Forest College

  Bachelor of Arts, English; Politics

  1992 — 1994

• DePaul University College of Law

  Juris Doctor, Law

  1995 — 1999

Skills

• Real Estate
• Business and Contract Contingency Litigation
• Corporate Law
• Legal Advice
• Negotiation
• Microsoft Office
• Commercial Litigation
• Strategic Planning
• Litigation
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Dispute Resolution
• Disputes
• Appeals
• Civil Litigation
• Trials
• Mediation
• Analysis
• Arbitration
• Courts
• Real Estate Transactions
• Bankruptcy
• Management
• High Dollar Collection
• Legal Writing
• Contract Negotiation
• Dispute