Richard Spore is passionate about the law and gardening, usually in that order. His professional mission is to help real estate investors and other capitalists reach their business objectives, focusing on three particular practice areas:
- Commercial real estate and lending transactions, together with transactions involving timber and agricultural and recreational land;
- Business and transaction planning, particularly in the areas of joint ventures, partnerships and real estate investments; and
- Business divorces involving business owners, partners or co-investors who no longer get along.
In pursuing this mission, Richard benefits from almost 25 years of experience; passionate curiosity about the law; and a practical, business orientation.
Practical Experience
Richard has been involved in transactions involving just about every kind of commercial real estate--office, retail, industrial, multi-family, hotel/hospitality, timber and agricultural land--throughout the southeastern United States as well as California, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania and other states. He has represented private investors, publicly traded REITS and institutional lenders in these transactions. He has represented clients in transactions involving many of the landmark office buildings in the Memphis area, including among others Clark Tower, the Crescent Center, Lakecrest Office Park, Lynnfield Office Park, 6000 Poplar, and Pennmarc Center. He has represented both landlords and tenants in a variety of commercial lease transactions, including complex build to suit leases. He has represented developers in a wide variety of development projects and public/private partnerships, including various PILOT matters. He also has extensive experience in representing borrowers, lenders and investors involved in distressed real estate situations, and he chairs Bass Berry & Sims' Task Force on Distressed Real Estate.
Richard has advised investors and private company owners in a wide variety of investment partnership, joint venture and start-up situations over the years. Although many of these were real estate oriented, he also has worked with technology companies, healthcare providers, manufacturers and trading companies. Company owners and investors do not always get along, and Richard has advised clients in numerous business divorce matters over the years. As noted below, the American Bar Association has published a book by him on this topic.
Because of his experience, Richard has been recognized by a variety of peer review organizations, including Best Lawyers® and Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.
Teaching, Speaking and Publications
Richard is passionately curious about those areas of the law in which he practices. He has been both a perpetual student and teacher of the law in those areas. He has taught business law and business planning to undergraduate and graduate business students at Christian Brothers University and to law students at the University of Memphis School of Law. He has taught dozens of classes and seminars over the years to lawyers, business executives and commercial real estate professionals, including at the annual national meeting of the Business Law section of the American Bar Association and at regional meetings of the International Council of Shopping Centers. He has published award winning articles on LLC law, real estate joint ventures, and partnerships in regional and national publications, as well as three books on partnerships and business law topics. His most recent book, The Guide to Business Divorce, was published by the American Bar Association this year. Richard's interest in the law has extended to actually helping write the law. He chaired both the committee that drafted Tennessee's Revised Uniform Partnership Act and also the committee that drafted Tennessee's Revised Limited Liability Company Act.
Business Orientation
By education, temperament and experience, Richard's approach is practical, results oriented and business-focused. He attended Sewanee: The University of the South on a merit scholarship and graduated summa cum laude with honors as the top economics student in his class. While pursuing his law degree from The University of Virginia, he also studied investment analysis and management at U. Va.'s Darden Graduate School of Business. After he began practicing law, he completed his graduate business studies through the executive M.B.A in Finance program at Christian Brothers University in Memphis. He has since been involved in firm management, having served on both the management committee of his prior law firm and also currently serving on Bass Berry & Sims' executive committee. He has also served on several nonprofit boards, including a two year term as President of the Board of Directors of Memphis Botanic Gardens, where he helped lead the Board during the MBG's construction of a world class $6,000,000+ Children's Garden.
Richard relaxes from his law practice by digging in his garden. His garden has won the Memphis Commercial Appeal's "Garden of the Year" contest, and he is open to winning other gardening awards. When not in his office or garden, Richard enjoys spending time with his family (wife Trish, daughter Caroline, and rescue dogs Max and Oliver), and he is also active in his church and several civic and community organizations.
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