Governor Rick Snyder appointed Steven H. Hilfinger as director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG) in February 2011. Effective April 25, 2011, DELEG was reorganized and renamed the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), reflecting the department's leadership role in reinventing the state's licensing and regulatory environment. Concurrently with the reorganization, Gov. Snyder created the Office of Regulatory Reinvention within LARA, and name Hilfinger as its director and chief regulatory officer for the state of Michigan.
Hilfinger's vision for LARA is to create a licensing and regulatory environment that is more effective and streamlined and eliminates unnecessary or burdensome regulation. The newly reorganized department will be customer driven and business minded, to support business growth and job creation. At the same time, he plans on focusing on regulations that protect the health and safety of Michigan's citizens.
Prior to his appointment, Hilfinger was the managing partner of the Detroit office of Foley & Lardner LLP, a national law firm with more than 900 attorneys in the U.S. and internationally. Hilfinger co-founded the office in 2000 and served as its managing partner from September 2002 to June 2006 and from June 2009 until his recent appointment.
During his 23-year career, Hilfinger has acquired in-depth experience in a wide variety of industries and sectors. Specializing in corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, securities and finance, and regulatory law matters, Hilfinger has represented automotive suppliers and other manufacturers, medical device makers, private equity and venture capital funds, financial institutions and other publicly and privately held businesses. In particular, Hilfinger has highly specialized knowledge of the automotive industry and the financial sector.
Hilfinger earned a B.B.A. degree, concentrating in accounting, with high distinction from the University of Michigan in 1984 and graduated magna cum laude with a J.D. degree from Northwestern University in 1987.
