Bio
Michael focuses his practice on producing creative and effective solutions for his business-oriented clients. His experience includes counseling on a wide range of matters:
- Corporate governance and business planning
- Advising on real estate purchases
- Sales and related transactions
- Negotiating commercial leases
- Navigating business disputes
- Consulting on mergers and acquisitions
- Conducting negotiations on transactional matters and issues of liability
- Counseling on contractual relations
- Lobbying local and state governing bodies
- Guiding his clients through complex regulatory environments including matters related to alcohol licenses, medical marijuana matters, and regulated firearms.
Since the passage of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016, he has become one of the state’s top attorneys to advise participants in the state’s medical marijuana industry.
Prior to law school, Michael interned with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in the Gang Task Force Unit. During law school, he worked with various prominent firms in Arkansas as a law clerk. He 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 was also a mentor to younger students and served on the Editorial Board of the Arkansas Law Review.
After law school, Michael continued his education by becoming a Master in Business Administration. While at the Sam M. Walton Graduate School of Business, Michael was appointed as a member of the MBA Curriculum Redesign Committee.
Michael has shown a clear dedication to ethics, serving as an elected representative to the Student Conduct Council at the University of Arkansas School of Law, an appointed member of the Arkansas Law Review Disciplinary Committee, and as an appointed member of the University of Arkansas All-University Academic Integrity Board.
Publications
High Crimes, Treason, and Chicken Theft: Infamous Crimes in Arkansas and Disqualification from Political Office — 67 ARK. L. REV. 653 (2014)
The Shifting Landscape of Captive Insurance Arrangements — 35 Inside (NY State Bar. Assoc.) 33 (Spr./Sum. 2017)
Uniform Voidable Transactions Act as Adopted in Arkansas — Rose Law Firm Website (May 2017), available at http://www.roselawfirm.com/2017/05/uniform-voidable-transactions-act-as-adopted-in-arkansas/
Banking in the Medical Marijuana Industry is a Quagmire of Opportunity — Rose Law Firm Website (May 2017), available at http://www.roselawfirm.com/2017/05/banking-in-the-medical-marijuana-industry-is-a-quagmire-of-opportunity/
Guns or Ganja: Pick One and Only One — 52 Ark. Lawyer 24 (Spr. 2017), available at https://issuu.com/arkansas_bar_association/docs/the_arkansas_lawyer_spring_2017issu/26
Areas of Service
Experience
- Serving as external corporate counsel to institutional clients on real estate matters
- Advising on entity structuring and transactions in the medical marijuana industry
- Serving as corporate counsel to in-state and out-of-state institutional medical marijuana clients
- Advising on, drafting for and performing due diligence in relation to real estate leasing, purchase and sale transactions up to $45 million
- Advising on, drafting for and performing due diligence in relation to lending transactions up to $750 million
- Advising on matters of real property title, including drafting, negotiating and clearing title encumbrances
- Representing businesses in external business disputes with vendors, suppliers and clients
- Advising on and conducting negotiations for internal entity disputes between equity-holders
- Advising on regulatory issues on the $100 million sale of a business
- Representing clients before the Arkansas General Assembly to pass industry-specific legislation
- Representing clients before local regulatory bodies such as city councils, quorum court and planning commissions
- Advising on estate planning issues, including the ownership and transfer of National Firearms Act items
- Negotiating employment agreements and arrangements for the benefit of licensed professionals
Honors
- Best Lawyers in America to Watch – Corporate Law, Land Use & Zoning Law, Real Estate Law (2020)
- Super Lawyers Rising Star (2018 – 2020)
- Graduate of Leadership Arkansas Class XIII (2019)
- The New Influential, Arkansas Business 20 in their 20’s (2018)
Affiliations
- Arkansas Bar Association
- Pulaski County Bar Association
Education
- University of Arkansas Walton Graduate School of Business, Master of Business Administration (Finance) – 2016
- All-University Academic Integrity Board, Graduate Student Representative
- MBA Curriculum Rebuilding Committee, Member
- University of Arkansas School of Law, Juris Doctor, Summa Cum Laude – 2015
- Note and Comment Editor, Arkansas Law Review
- Student Conduct Council, Elected Representative
- Arkansas Law Review Disciplinary Committee, Appointed Member
- University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Management) – 2012
- University of Arkansas Chancellor’s List
- Sam M. Walton College of Business Dean’s List