Mark J. Temkin

Mark J. Temkin, Shareholder 314.727.0101 temkin@riezmanberger.com vcard

For over 30 years, Mark J. Temkin has dedicated his practice to the area of Business Law, with an emphasis on Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Structures and Governance, Real Estate Transactions, Tax and Estate Planning. Mark’s practice is primarily transactional and includes representation of the nation's largest floor covering cooperative in connection with all manner of agreements and activities including credit programs, franchise systems, licensing agreements, and cooperative tax issues; providing advice to clients related to matters dealing with taxes, the Internal Revenue Service and the Internal Revenue Code; negotiating, documenting and strategic counseling in connection with all aspects of the development and redevelopment of real estate projects; and designing and implementing estate plans for high net worth individuals.

Mark and Robert G. Oesch drafted the Qualified Spousal Trust statute, passed by the Missouri legislature on May 12, 2011 and signed into law by Governor Nixon on July 11, 2011, which creates a cutting edge estate planning vehicle for husbands and wives. Additionally, Mark, Robert D. Jacobs and Christine P. Mace drafted the Missouri Cooperative Associations Act, RSMo. §§351.1000 through 351.1228, passed by the Missouri legislature on May 26, 2011 and signed into law by Governor Nixon on July 11, 2011, which creates cooperative associations as a new type of business organization to conduct business in the state of Missouri.

Highlights of Mark’s professional activities include: negotiating and closing the sale, merger and purchase of businesses valued between $3,500,000 to $105,000,000, rendering complex tax counseling and representation in connection with the solicitation and negotiation of agreements with the Rams professional football team to effectuate their move to St. Louis, successfully representing clients in tax audits, including obtaining a $12,000,000+ refund for a client in the face of Government demands for $4,000,000 in additional taxes,negotiating leases with numerous Fortune 100 companies, doing the legal work associated with the development of shopping centers, hotels, amphitheaters (including both the St. Louis and Kansas City Amphitheaters), industrial buildings, build to suit, and obtaining successful private letter ruling requests. Mark was also named a Super Lawyer in 2006, 2008 and 2009, an honor bestowed on only 5% of all lawyers from Missouri and Kansas City combined and a Five Star Best In Client Satisfaction Wealth Managers for 2008 and 2009, an honor bestowed among just 4% of the wealth managers in the St. Louis area. Mark was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 edition of The Best Lawyers in America(c) in the practice area of Mergers and Acquisitions Law and in 2021 in the practice areas of Tax Law and Trusts and Estates. Mark is a member of Lawyers of Distinction, was nominated as a top Mergers and Acquisitions Provider by Small Business Monthly® -2018-2019 and was honored as a Top 5 Business Lawyer in St. Louis also by Small Business Monthly®.

Mark graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science in History. Mark then received both his Juris Doctorate and L.L.M. in Taxation from Washington University in St. Louis. Mark is licensed to practice in the State of Missouri and is a member of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the American Bar Association. Mark is a founding member of the Cardozo Society in St. Louis, and is also the founder and director of a scholarship fund which grants multiple scholarships per year to students of Parkway West High School. Mark also sits on several advisory boards for clients, ranging in size from companies with a value of $20 Million to companies with net values in excess of $150 Million.