Green Bay-Based Gerbers Law to Combine Practice with DeWitt LLP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2021

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle M. Friedman
mmf@dewittllp.com / 262-754-2877

Green Bay-Based Gerbers Law to Combine Practice with DeWitt LLP

GREEN BAY | MADISON | MILWAUKEE | MINNEAPOLIS – Today DeWitt LLP law firm announced Gerbers Law, S.C., combined its practice with DeWitt LLP and began operations as DeWitt LLP in Green Bay, Wisconsin, effective April 1, 2021.

Gerbers Law was established in 1993 by Attorney Terry J. Gerbers. Its attorneys practice primarily in the areas of commercial and business law, real estate, civil litigation, banking, probate, estate and business succession planning.  It will continue its tradition of excellent legal services as it transitions to DeWitt.

According to Timothy L. Stewart, President and Managing Partner of DeWitt, “The expansion of DeWitt into the Northeastern Wisconsin area broadens our geographic footprint and is a tremendous opportunity for both of our firms to offer even more to our clients.  We’re excited to combine with a firm that is closely aligned with our core values and one which shares a similar business structure, strong financial health, close attorney relationships and a compatible approach to delivering top-notch legal services.”

Terry J. Gerbers, President of Gerbers Law adds, “We recognized the opportunity to expand the legal services we provide to our clients by combining with DeWitt. Both firms share similar philosophies and a strong emphasis on client service.”

Throughout the years the two firms have attracted highly skilled, committed attorneys and professionals, and have invested in their training, development, and growth. As a result of those efforts, the firms have been able to deliver exceptional legal services to their clients. The combination of firms will enhance DeWitt’s ability to continue to attract top legal talent in its respective regions so it may continue to offer outstanding legal services to its clients.

About DeWitt

DeWitt LLP was founded in 1903 and is one of the 10 largest law firms based in Wisconsin, with an additional presence in Minnesota. It has more than 120 attorneys practicing in Green Bay, Madison and Metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has the experience to service clients of all scopes and sizes. The firm is known for its work in a variety of legal areas including intellectual property, patents, trademarks and copyright law, construction litigation, corporate law, employment, environmental, employee benefits, estate planning, family business, family law, government relations, health care, litigation, real estate, and tax law.  More information is available at dewittllp.com.

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CUNA Mutual Group to Acquire Assurant’s Global Prearranged Funeral and Final Expense Business

Acquisition Will Expand Company’s Middle Market Consumer Reach

CUNA Mutual Group, a broad financial services provider, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Assurant’s prearranged funeral insurance and final expense business in the U.S. and Canada, serving more than 2 million consumers – for approximately $1.3 billion. This investment will enhance CUNA Mutual Group’s ability to help ensure middle market consumers have access to solutions that help build financial stability.

Prearranged funeral insurance, also known as preneed, and senior lifestyle protection solutions are designed to help ease the emotional and financial burdens of consumers and their families related to planning for the later chapters of life. Acquiring Assurant’s best-in-class prearranged funeral insurance and final expense solutions business enables CUNA Mutual Group to further serve the growing middle market.

“This acquisition allows us to expand the ways we reach middle-market consumers, helping more people make financial decisions that work for them and their situation,” said Robert N. Trunzo, president and CEO, CUNA Mutual Group. “We will continue to build, buy and create partnerships to bring additional insurance, investment, and technology solutions into our portfolio to support our strategic priorities, protect even more consumers and augment our resources and financial strength.”

Like CUNA Mutual Group, Assurant’s preneed business is focused on protecting consumers and their families with simple, easy to understand products. The preneed business will operate with autonomy at its Rapid City, South Dakota location with limited integration into CUNA Mutual Group’s other business lines or operations. Since preneed solutions are provided to consumers primarily through funeral homes, the company has no plans at this time to offer these services through financial institutions, such as credit unions and banks.

The acquisition provides the opportunity to add a business already at scale as CUNA Mutual Group enters new markets to protect even more consumers. The business brings $6.5 billion of face value in-force. Assurant’s distribution model for preneed and final expense solutions includes a longstanding partnership with the largest funeral home provider in North America and many other funeral home partners and distributors across the U.S. and Canada.

The agreement includes a multiyear extension of the 23-year automobile mechanical repair coverage partnership between the companies.

Assurant President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Colberg said, “Today’s announcement represents a positive outcome for all of our stakeholders and importantly, for our Preneed employees, customers and policyholders. I am also excited to continue to further strengthen our longtime partnership with CUNA Mutual Group, built upon shared values and aligned culture and commitment to customer excellence.”

Trunzo added, “CUNA Mutual Group remains committed to helping credit unions and other strategic partners excel at reaching and addressing consumers’ needs. Ultimately, we are working to ensure a brighter financial future is accessible to everyone.”

The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the third quarter, subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Perella Weinberg Partners LP is acting as financial advisor to CUNA Mutual Group, and Foley & Lardner LLP is acting as its legal counsel.

About CUNA Mutual Group

Built on the principle of “people helping people,” CUNA Mutual Group is a financially strong insurance, investment and financial services company that believes a brighter financial future should be accessible to everyone. Through our company culture, community engagement, and products and solutions, we are working to create a more equitable financial system that helps to improve the lives of those we serve and our society. For more information, visit cunamutual.com.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) is a leading global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions that support, protect and connect major consumer purchases. Anticipating the evolving needs of consumers, Assurant partners with the world’s leading brands to develop innovative products and services and to deliver an enhanced customer experience. A Fortune 500 company with a presence in 21 countries, Assurant offers mobile device solutions; extended service contracts; vehicle protection services; pre-funded funeral insurance; renters insurance; lender-placed insurance products; and other specialty products. The Assurant Foundation strengthens communities by supporting charitable partners that help protect where people live and can thrive, connect with local resources, inspire inclusion and prepare leaders of the future.

Learn more at assurant.com or on Twitter @AssurantNews.

Aldevron to Host Virtual Ribbon Cutting for Madison Site

Aldevron recently announced its upcoming virtual ribbon cutting event, which will take place on Wednesday, February 10 at 12:00 PM CST. Its focus will be the company’s investments in key areas, expanding Aldevron’s ability to enable clients’ breakthroughs in the emerging field of genetic medicine, further impacting patients and achieving the company’s mission.

Nordic acquires Bails & Associates

The healthcare firm bolsters its ERP solutions with the addition of the industry-leading Infor consulting firm

MADISON, Wis. – Feb. 3, 2021 – Today, Nordic, a top-rated healthcare consulting firm, announced its acquisition of Bails & Associates, an industry-leading ERP consulting firm that specializes in Infor solutions for customers across a variety of industries, with a concentration in healthcare. Bails will continue to maintain operations out of its headquarters in Canonsburg, Pa. and serve customers under the Bails brand, which is now part of the Nordic family of brands.

“We’re proud to welcome Bails to Nordic’s growing family of companies,” said Nordic CEO, Jim Costanzo. “Together, we’ll help solve for the complex integration challenges facing healthcare organizations. By combining Bails’ expert ERP capabilities with Nordic’s deep experience in advisory consulting, health IT staffing, and managed services, we’ll enable greater efficiencies that drive better business outcomes for healthcare organizations.”

Bails was founded by President and CEO Jamie Bails as part of the Infor ecosystem more than 25 years ago. Under Jamie’s direction, the company has grown to serve more than 1,000 clients to date worldwide in various markets including healthcare, public sector, retail, manufacturing, and strategic industries. Jamie will continue to lead the company, overseeing strategic initiatives, guiding the integration with Nordic’s healthcare consulting solutions, and providing targeted approaches to ERP implementations in these industries.

“Bails is pleased to be joining Nordic, a firm that shares our customer-first mentality,” said Bails President and CEO Jamie Bails. “From its commitment to quality to its focus on company culture, Nordic values the same priorities we do as an employer and as a partner. We look forward to tapping into our combined strengths to deliver transformational results for our clients.”

With this acquisition, Nordic will bring Bails’ ERP solutions to its current customer base of nearly 300 healthcare organizations, helping clients align their system capabilities and operational efficiencies to successfully achieve their business objectives. As an Infor Alliance and Delivery Partner, Bails’ tenured ERP consultants provide Infor/Lawson expertise in a variety of areas including, implementation and upgrade service performance improvement, enablement, managed services, and migrations to V11 CloudSuite.

These offerings align with Nordic’s portfolio of healthcare consulting solutions, which, in combination with its Europe-based EHR consulting firm Tasman Global, and its Canadian healthcare consulting entity, Healthtech Consultants, it provides to customers around the world. The combined entity will now serve nearly 550 organizations globally.

Bails is Nordic’s fourth acquisition in recent years. Nordic acquired Tasman Global, a leading EHR consulting firm throughout Europe and Asia, in 2020 and Healthtech Consultants, Canada’s top strategic healthcare IT consulting firm, in 2019. In addition, Nordic acquired the revenue cycle transformation practice of The Claro Group in 2018, complementing Nordic’s offerings with robust revenue cycle solutions for its healthcare customers.

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About Nordic Consulting

Nordic is a top-rated healthcare consulting firm that guides organizations to a stronger business with better patient outcomes. It provides health IT staffing, advisory consulting, and managed services, leading clients smoothly from strategy through to execution. Founded in 2010 as an EHR staff augmentation firm, Nordic’s solutions have expanded over time to help clients overcome their evolving healthcare-related challenges. Today, Nordic and its family of consulting companies, Bails & Associates, Healthtech Consultants, and Tasman Global, partner with nearly 550 clients across the globe, helping them deliver higher quality care at a lower cost. To learn more, please visit nordicwi.com.

About Bails & Associates

For 25 years, Bails & Associates has provided seasoned, certified consultants with services encompassing Human Capital & Talent Management, Financial Management, Supply Chain Management and Technical Services, including cloud provisioning, reporting, interfaces, data conversions, extensions, and workflows. Bails offers experts with a multitude of talents, abilities, and experience across diverse industries. Bails’ ERP resources are heavily experienced and are vetted, trained, and extensively supported, making them well qualified to identify client needs and exceed expectations. These attributes provide a smooth and seamless transition from existing systems, while at the same time enhancing each client’s business operations. To learn more, please visit bailsllc.com.

Event Essentials acquires A LA CRATE RENTALS

MADISON, WI: Event Essentials (a division of A to Z RentAll), which started in 1954, acquires A LA CRATE RENTALS.

If the pandemic has taught them anything, it is that they are better together!

Introducing A LA CRATE RENTALS as a Boutique Division of Event Essentials. A healthy marriage of respect and admiration. They compliment one another’s inventory and teams well. Their goal is not to change either division but bring out the best in one another.

Read more here