Mary E. Cebula

Mary Cebula is a member of the Business Practice Group. She specializes in debt and equity financing, middle market M&A transactions and general organization, and business matters.

Ms. Cebula represents early and high-growth companies in an outside general counsel capacity. She focuses on emerging companies and the venture capital firms that invest in them. Her business background gives her the ability to advise entrepreneurs facing legal and business challenges.

Ms. Cebula advises clients in a broad range of corporate legal matters, including formation and structuring, corporate governance, general operational contracting and contract negotiation, intellectual property matters, employment issues, debt and equity financing (SAFE, convertible note, and NVCA preferred stock), and sale transactions. She also has experience in guiding women-owned businesses with the WBENC, WBE, and WOSB certification processes.

Before joining Bodman as an associate attorney, she served in the firm’s summer associate program, gaining exposure to a broad range of legal services and clients. Prior to being a summer associate, she worked as a law clerk in the legal department of Flowers Foods, Inc., a publicly-traded, multibillion-dollar producer of packaged baked goods. She also worked as a law clerk in the Office of the Indiana Attorney General working in the area of professional licensing enforcement.

At Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Ms. Cebula served as Managing Editor of the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies and was active with the Nonprofit Legal Clinic and the Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic. She was Vice President of the Business Law Society, Social Chair of the Women’s Law Caucus, and a member of the Intellectual Property Association. She was invited to participate in the Global Venture Capital Investment Competition and the Maurer Transactional Drafting and Negotiations Competition where she received the award for best buyer’s draft. She also earned a Certificate of Achievement for pro bono service.

As an undergraduate, she was President (2009-10) and Financial Vice President (2008-09) of Alpha Xi Delta National Sorority. She received several academic honors including Business Senior of the Year and the Cooper Scholar award as undergraduate scholar of the year.

Before beginning law school, Ms. Cebula founded and managed all aspects of a successful e-commerce business engaged in the design and marketing of gift baskets.

Honors, Awards, and Recognitions

• Michigan Rising Stars 2024, Business/Corporate

Publications

• “Shareholder Oppression Claims in Closely Held Michigan Corporations: A Powerful Remedy Against Abuses of Power,” Bomdan Business Law Update (February 23, 2024)
• Co-Author (with Nicholas P. McElhinny), “SEC Provides Relief For Some Reporting Requirements,” Bodman COVID-19 Response Team Update, April 2020

Pro Bono

• State Bar of Michigan 2023 A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll 

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• 08/31/2023Bodman PLC and 31 Firm Attorneys Honored by State Bar of Michigan for Pro Bono Service
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