Mark E. Utz
Mark E. Utz, a Rochester native, is a shareholder who joined our firm in 1991. Prior to 1991, Utz was an attorney in the tax department of an international accounting firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As a Board Certified Real Property Law Specialist certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association, he has extensive law transactional experience as a legal advisor in business, real estate and estate planning,
Practice Areas
Business & Corporate
- Corporation, LLC and Partnership Formation
- Business Sale, Purchaser and Merger and Acquisition
- Buy-Sell Agreements
- Business Governance and Structure
- Entity Dissolution
- Employment
Real Estate
- Land Development and construction contract
- Advocate development issues before governmental tribunals
- Commercial and Residential Purchase Agreements
- Commercial and Residential Leases
- Easements and Licenses
- Title examinations and clearance of title issues
- Represent lenders and borrowers on real estate financing
Banking & Financial
- Loan Documents (for both lenders and borrowers)
- Workout
Estate Planning & Administration
- Wills
- Trusts
- Gift and Estate Tax Planning
- Family and business succession planning
- Probate Avoidance
- Health Care Directives and Powers of Attorney
- Probate and Trust Estate Administration
Education & Professional
University of St. Thomas (B.A., 1982)
William Mitchell College of Law (J.D.,1985 Law Review)
Judicial Law Clerk, Second District, State of Minnesota
Admitted to bar, Minnesota;
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota;
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois;
U.S. Tax Court
Mr. Utz has been a frequent speaker on real estate, estate planning and business formation issues, presenting at the Minnesota CLE Trust Law Institute and Minnesota CLE Real Estate Institute. He has co-authored a chapter on contract law for the Minnesota State Bar Association publication entitled Contract Law in Minnesota. Utz presents and Chairs the MN CLE contract Law in the Minnesota series. He has also written for the William Mitchell Law Review.
Mr. Utz is a member of the Real Property, Estate Planning and Business Law Sections of the American, Minnesota State, and Olmsted County Bar Associations.
Personal Interests
Mr. Utz enjoys the great family atmosphere of Rochester with his wife and two daughters. In warmer months, Mr. Utz plays golf, while in the winter, he cross-country skis, snow shoes and downhill skis. Beyond Rochester, Mr. Utz enjoys hunting, fishing, water-skiing, and sailing in Northern Wisconsin.
Mr. Utz is active in the community, currently serving on the Boards of the Rochester Area Foundation (Vice – Co-Chair), Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc. (Past Chair); Minnesota Zoo Board; and the greater Rochester Advocates for Universities and Colleges (President). Utz is an advisor to the University of Minnesota Rochester Chancellor as a member of the Chancellor’s Advisory Advocacy Committee. Mr. Utz has also served as Director and Officer of the following non-profit organizations: Ronald McDonald House (President); Rochester Estate Planning council (President); Rochester Public Utilities; Rochester Area Builders Association (Past Chair of Governmental Affairs); Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce (Chair, Governmental Forums): Rochester Rotary Risers (Past President); Rochester Downtown Advisory Council; Tax Round Table (President); and the Job Training Center.