Benjamin C. Dilley
Business, Real Estate, Complex Litigation, and Construction Law Attorney
Roy Vizcarra, Paralegal
Ben Dilley is a senior attorney who helps growth-minded businesses thrive with practical, strategic counsel tailored to their goals. He serves as a trusted advocate and proactive business partner, aligning legal strategy with operational and financial realities so leaders can move decisively. Clients value his clear communication, fast turnaround, and ability to translate complex legal and technical issues into concrete, business-ready actions. Ben’s focus is on protecting value, reducing friction, and supporting confident decision-making.
In every engagement, Ben prioritizes timely, creative, business-focused solutions that let clients operate and scale with clarity and control. He chose this work because he enjoys helping people build and protect things that matter.
“I do this work because helping people build and protect good businesses matters. I will be candid about tradeoffs and aim for results that work in the real world. You can expect responsiveness, preparation, and steady follow-through at every step.”
Education
Kalamazoo College
B.A. Political Science
Kalamazoo, MI
Michigan State University College of Law
cum laude
Lansing, MI
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Bar Admissions
- Michigan
Ben advises clients across a wide range of legal needs, with particular depth where business, technology, and projects converge. His practice spans advisory, transactions, and disputes, allowing him to spot risks early and resolve issues efficiently when they arise. Representative areas include:
- Outside General Counsel and Business Law
- Complex & Commercial Litigation
- Construction; Real Estate
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emerging Technologies
- Cybersecurity and Privacy
- Employment.
Outside General Counsel
Ben integrates with leadership teams to provide day-to-day advice, issue spotting, and decision support across the business lifecycle. He emphasizes regular check-ins, rapid responses, and practical guidance that balances legal risk and commercial outcomes. His approach bridges legal, operational, and financial perspectives so teams understand the details and the strategic implications before they act. The result is a steady cadence of timely, business-focused solutions that keep momentum without sacrificing protection.
Complex & Commercial Litigation
When disputes arise, Ben helps clients define a clear strategy, build a focused record, and drive toward efficient resolution. His experience includes business disputes over contracts, intellectual property and trade secrets, business torts and fraud; real estate and construction matters; post-acquisition and asset-sale disagreements; and insurance coverage claims. He represents clients in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration and mediation, always aligning litigation posture with business objectives. Ben works to narrow issues early, target the evidence that matters, and position matters for the best outcome—whether that is settlement or trial.
Ben represents owners, developers, contractors, design professionals, and investors across the project lifecycle. He negotiates and structures complex multiparty agreements, advises on delivery methods and risk allocation, and manages claims involving defects, delay, disruption, change orders, liens, and surety. His counsel focuses on keeping projects moving, protecting margins, and resolving disputes efficiently through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation when necessary. Clients appreciate his grounding in industry practice and his attention to documentation that prevents problems before they start.
Ben assists clients in acquisitions, sales, development, and leasing, as well as workouts and dispute resolution when deals encounter obstacles. He collaborates with stakeholders to surface issues early—title, survey, entitlements, environmental, financing—and to structure pragmatic solutions that close gaps and keep the transaction moving. When disputes arise, he litigates or arbitrates with an eye toward business results, time, and cost. His goal is to deliver responsive, personal service and practical ideas for complex problems so that transactions stay on track.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Ben guides buyers and sellers from preliminary deal design through closing, coordinating diligence, risk allocation, and documentation. He structures transactions to protect value while advancing commercial priorities, balancing speed, certainty, and post-close integration needs. His work includes asset and equity deals, roll-ups, carve-outs, and transitions for closely held and family-owned businesses. Throughout, he keeps leadership focused on the variables that matter most to price, timing, and risk.
AI and Emerging Technologies
Recognizing AI’s impact on every industry, Ben helps companies adopt AI safely and strategically by assessing use cases, regulatory/IP considerations, vendor terms, data governance, and employee-use policies. He completed the MIT Sloan School of Management and MIT CSAIL six-week executive training program, Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy, and leverages that framework to align AI initiatives with measurable business value. His work emphasizes responsible deployment, privacy and security safeguards, and defensible governance. Ben also incorporates modern legal-tech in his own practice to deliver efficient, high-quality work.
Business Formation and Succession Planning
Ben supports startups, family businesses, and established companies on entity selection and structuring that fit ownership, tax, and growth plans. He advises on governance practices that clarify roles and reduce conflict, and he designs ownership transition strategies that preserve value and continuity. His counsel integrates risk management with practical documentation so leaders can plan rather than react. The aim is long-term stability with flexibility to seize opportunities.
- 2026 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, and Securities Regulation
- 2023 – 2025 Best Lawyers in America© – “One to Watch”, Commercial Litigation, Securities Regulation
- 2024 – 2025 Best Lawyers in America© – “One to Watch”, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- 2019 – 2024 Michigan Super Lawyers “Rising Star”, Civil Litigation: Plaintiff/Defense
- 2019 – 2022 Grand Rapids Magazine – Top Lawyers, Personal Injury Law
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