Warner Norcross + Judd LLP partner John Byl has been selected for Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2024 Hall of Fame.
Now inducting its sixth Hall of Fame class, the publication chose 30 Michigan leaders in the law for their success and demonstration of strong leadership both within and outside of their chosen legal field, as well as their contributions to the community. Byl has served as a trusted environmental and economic incentives lawyer for more than four decades. He and his fellow recipients will be honored during an awards luncheon April 26 in Troy.
Byl’s nomination read in part: “His outstanding contributions extend beyond legal excellence and demonstrate a profound impact on the legal profession, the community and the environmental landscape. John’s legal career is marked by his expertise in navigating complex environmental issues and economic incentives. His proficiency in addressing environmental challenges, obtaining permits and ensuring compliance with regulations has made him an invaluable asset to a diverse range of clients, including real estate and resource developers, manufacturers and industrial clients with international reach.”
During the course of his tenure with Warner, Byl and the firm have helped clients secure more than $2 billion in economic incentives. With a strong focus on brownfield redevelopment projects, Byl has supported transformative redevelopment projects in Grand Rapids, Detroit, Benton Harbor, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Holland and other cities across the state. He was also instrumental in drafting community revitalization legislation for the state of Michigan, which created the structure for its new brownfield program and other incentives.
Byl serves as environmental counsel for many of West Michigan’s leading manufacturers. In this aspect of his legal practice, he works with clients to solve complicated environmental problems. He works regularly with real estate and resource developers, manufacturers and other clients to secure permits, comply with environmental regulations and deal with regulatory agencies and municipalities on contamination and cleanup issues. He drafted portions of Michigan’s primary environmental cleanup law known as Part 201, as well as other environmental legislation and rulemaking.
Byl has an extensive list of awards for his work, including being named to Best Lawyers in America® since 2006and recognized as its Grand Rapids Environmental Lawyer of the Year in 2011 and 2020. He has also been named as a Michigan Super Lawyers for 13 years and recognized in the Top 100 Michigan Super Lawyers in 2008. Byl was recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a 2012 Leader in the Law. He has been named a Top Lawyer in environmental law by Grand Rapids Magazine since 2019. Byl was elected as a Fellow to the American College of Environmental Lawyers in 2021.
Extremely active professionally, Byl is a member of the American Bar Association, Grand Rapids Bar Association and State Bar of Michigan, where he is past chair of the Environmental Law Section. He chaired the board of the Land Conservancy of West Michigan and served as vice chair of the national board of the National Brownfield Association, as well as chair of the Michigan chapter. He is a past director and chair of the West Michigan Air and Waste Management Association.
Byl holds a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Hope College and a law degree cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.
About Warner
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