Bio
Michael focuses his transactional and regulatory practice on producing creative and effective solutions for his business-oriented clients. His broad commercial experience includes counseling on:
- Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures
- Real estate acquisitions, sales and leasing
- Corporate affairs, governance, planning and structuring
- Commercial and corporate negotiations and dispute resolution
- Contractual relationships
- Lobbying state and local governing bodies
- Corporate operations in heavily-regulated industries such as alcohol, cannabis and firearms
- Asset management and governance
Michael regularly serves as external corporate counsel to institutional clients regarding management and operational matters. Since the adoption of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016, he has emerged as one of Arkansas’s preeminent counselors in the cannabis industry and has extended the firm’s cannabis practice to national and international clients.
Michael has a clear dedication to service to the firm and his community. He currently serves as the firm’s recruiting co-chairman and is a member of the marketing committee. He also serves as a state liaison to the American Bar Association’s Corporate Laws Committee and as former chairman; he serves on the steering committee of the Arkansas Bar Association Public Service Academy.
Prior to graduating from law school summa cum laude and with his Master of Business Administration, Michael interned with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in the Gang Task Force Unit, clerked with various prominent Arkansas firms, served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Ben T. Barry in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Arkansas and as a legislative extern for Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3). He served on the editorial board of the Arkansas Law Review, the Student Conduct Council at the University of Arkansas School of Law, the Arkansas Law Review Disciplinary Committee, the University of Arkansas All-University Academic Integrity Board and the MBA Curriculum Redesign Committee. He was also a mentor to younger students and served on the Editorial Board of the Arkansas Law Review.
Areas Of Service
Honors
- Best Lawyers in America – Cannabis Law-2024-2025
- Best Lawyers in America – Litigation and Controversy- Tax-2024-2025
- Best Lawyers in America to Watch – Corporate Law, Land Use & Zoning Law, Real Estate Law (2020 – 2021)
- Super Lawyers Rising Star (2018 – 2021)
- Graduate of Leadership Arkansas Class XIII (2019)
- The New Influential, Arkansas Business 20 in their 20’s (2018)
Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Arkansas Bar Association
- Pulaski County Bar Association
Education
- University of Arkansas Walton Graduate School of Business, Master of Business Administration (Finance) – 2016
- University of Arkansas School of Law, Juris Doctor, Summa Cum Laude – 2015
- University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Management) – 2012
Related Industries
- Financial Institutions and Services
- Government
- Cannabis, Medical Marijuana and Hemp
- Poultry
- Private Equity
- Real Estate
- Regulated Industries
Publications