Lana Maria Escamilla is a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo County, Michigan.  She earned a Bachelor of Science, Cum Laude, from Western Michigan University in 2003, where she was a member of Lee Honors College and a McNair Scholar.  She graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in 2007.

Lana has practiced in district, circuit and probate courts throughout the State of Michigan, as well as the Federal Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Western District of Michigan.  Her expertise is in bankruptcy and insolvency, workouts and collections with an emphasis on creditors’ rights. She has represented credit unions and banks throughout the United States.   While clerking for Stephen L. Langeland, a United States Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee and creditors’ rights attorney, she developed an interest in bankruptcy law.  She continued on as an associate with his firm, until 2011, when she joined Capitol Bancorp Ltd., a holding company that held many bank charters throughout the United States as in-house corporate counsel.  While employed as corporate counsel, she was part of the litigation team and the lead bankruptcy attorney.

Lana went back into private practice in 2014, was a founding member of Escamilla & Salisbury, PLLC and recently joined Lewis Reed & Allen, P.C.  She continues to focus her practice on representing financial institutions with a focus on creditors’ rights, including bankruptcy, workouts and collections. Lana also represents individuals, non-profit organizations, and small businesses and has extensive experience in probate law, business transactions, including note sales, real estate law in the area of foreclosures, land contracts, landlord-tenant and civil litigation.  She is on the rotation for the Kalamazoo County Probate Court to serve as guardian ad litem for vulnerable individuals in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

Lana is a member of the Kalamazoo County Bar Association (Member: Probate Section), State Bar of Michigan (Member: Business Law, Elder Law & Disability Rights, Litigation, Probate & Estate Planning, Real Property Law), Federal Bar Association of Western District of Michigan (Member: Bankruptcy Steering Committee, 2020- ), and American Bankruptcy Institute.

Lana has presented at Legal Aid’s “Probate & Pro Bono: Help Families Protect Assets & Achieve Homeownership Training Event” August 2022; Co-Authored “The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Probate Law” published in the FBA Bankruptcy Journal-Summer 2021 Issue; Spoke for the National Business Institute Collection Law Course June 2021; and Spoke at the 23^rd Annual FBA Bankruptcy Conference 2011.

Lana enjoys being active in the community.  She currently is a volunteer for the MCCE Mock Trial program.   She has been instrumental in re-establishing the probate section of the Kalamazoo County Bar Association and is working with other community groups to establish legal clinics to assist underrepresented individuals.  Some of her previous volunteer work includes serving on the City of Portage Parks and Recreation Board from 2017-2020 where she was instrumental in organizing the Great American Campout.  She has raised funds and awareness for the Wilson’s Disease Association and petitioned the Detroit Marathon to add Wilson’s Disease Association as a charity in 2020.  She coached girls on the run, volunteered at the pro bono legal clinic-civil, probate clinic, immigration clinics assisting refugees seeking asylum, and volunteering at the Gospel Mission.

When not working, Lana enjoys reading, drawing, hiking, dance and spending time with her family.

2007, Michigan and U.S District Court, Western District of Michigan; 2009, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan

KVCC (A.A., magna cum laude, 2001); Western Michigan University (B.S., cum laude, 2003); Michigan State University College of Law (J.D., 2007)

Business, Civil Litigation, Creditor’s Rights/Secured Transactions, Estate Planning, Probate, Real Estate/Development