Skilled in deconstructing complex legal concepts into easily-digestible information, Mark helps clients confidently navigate all the stages of a real estate transaction.
Overview
Mark understands that effective and sustainable real estate development projects require the collaboration of several stakeholders, including municipal and regional governments, lenders, local and national businesses, and real estate developers. In support of these nuanced needs, Mark's practice encompasses an effective combination of commercial real estate development, land use and zoning analysis, real estate lending and leasing, allowing him to work with clients from the very beginning of development to the project’s stabilization.
Adept at speaking with clients of all sizes and varying project complexity, Mark's background in journalism and political science gives him a unique perspective to his client representation. His background instills in him an intellectual curiosity that allows him to quickly identify and proactively offer solutions to anticipated pressure points in each transaction.
Prior to joining the firm, Mark honed his legal research and writing skills during a two-term judicial clerkship at the Minnesota Court of Appeals. This experience equipped him with a practical knowledge of a wide range of legal issues and invaluable insights into the judicial process. As a result, Mark offers efficient and thorough research that empowers clients to make informed decisions.
In addition to his real estate practice, Mark maintains a robust pro bono practice, representing clients in immigration law matters with the firm’s Deinard Legal Clinic and volunteering as a hotline captain with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law for the national, non-partisan Election Protection call center.
Experience
Assists a regional chain of entertainment/food facilities in their expansion into the upper Midwest and Mountain West regions by completing site acquisition, conducting due diligence reviews to determine a site's suitability for development, obtaining required land use approvals and local entitlements, and assessing each municipality's planning and zoning laws.
Represents a Fortune 500 real estate services and investment firm with the maintenance of a $250 million loan facility with a Big Four bank by drafting and facilitating the execution of required assignment documents, reviewing due diligence related to each eligible loan for compliance with the terms of the facility, coordinating delivery of original loan documents to a third-party custodian, and facilitating open communication between the client and bank.
Represented a regional real estate investment firm in negotiating a joint venture agreement with a Fortune 500 insurance provider and then facilitated the joint venture’s negotiation with a Big Four bank for the establishment of a $350 million loan facility.
Acted as the lead real estate associate for Liberty Hospital of Liberty, Missouri, in a strategic growth partnership to join The University of Kansas Health System.
Advised a bank in the development of a regional industrial hub by conducting a due diligence review to determine a raw farmland site's suitability for development and any existing entitlements or easements that limit the client's ability to develop the land.
Represents a national homebuilder in the acquisition of land, the development of single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums.
Represents a local governmental agency in their development of brownfield land into mixed-use developments throughout the eastern Twin Cities, including lease drafting for potential tenants, environmental due diligence review, facilitating the subdivision of property into commercial and residential lots, and conveying the parcels to developers subject to restrictive covenants mandating certain environmental and employment standards.
News & Insights
News
Speaking Engagements
Co-Presenter, "2023 Mid-Year Case Law Update," Real Property Section, Minnesota State Bar Association, April 2023
Professional & Civic Activities
Professional & Civic Activities
Minnesota Lavender Bar Association
Minnesota State Bar Association, Real Property Section
Adjunct Professor of Gender & Sexuality Moot Court, University of Minnesota Law School, 2023 – Present
Practices & Industries
Admissions
- Minnesota
Education
University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 2020
- Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality, Student Articles Editor
Northwestern University, B.S. Journalism and Political Science, cum laude, 2017
Clerkships
- Honorable Peter M. Reyes, Jr., Minnesota Court of Appeals
- Honorable Tracy M. Smith, Minnesota Court of Appeals
- Honorable Randall J. Slieter, Minnesota Court of Appeals
