Our Basic Premise
The premise behind our practice is the fundamental belief
that all families deserve quality legal advice regarding
their estate plan, business plan and asset protection. Mr.
Pierce, the owner of the firm, has been an attorney for over
30 years. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with
an accounting degree (honors) and passed the CPA examination
on his first sitting. Mr. Pierce previously served as a
Bankruptcy Panel Trustee – administering over 1,000 cases.
He offers legal services in the areas of estate planning,
trust planning, wealth strategy planning, wills, trusts,
plans for minor children, plans for parents, Medicaid
planning, estate & federal tax planning, business tax
planning, probate avoidance strategies, probate law
services, special needs planning, special needs trusts,
guardianship, small business planning, business exit
planning & strategies, and asset protection.
Mr. Pierce became interested in this field as a result of
his experiences as a young man with his family's business in
Thermopolis, Wyoming. He watched as this business and
inheritance was devoured by government intervention, estate
taxes and divorce. This interest has been honed in 30+ years
experience as an attorney, accountant and business person.
Mr. Pierce is dedicated to making sure that none of his
clients ever has to go through what he and his family went
through. To help achieve that goal, in addition to his
accounting degree, Mr. Pierce obtained his Juris Doctorate
Degree with an emphasis in tax and estate planning from the
University of Colorado – Boulder – in 1983. He continues to
maintain the highest level of knowledge and expertise
through ongoing education and frequent attendance at
nationally recognized conferences on advanced planning
topics.
We are a member of the prestigious Wealth Counsel Practice
Excellence, a group of individuals devoted to the financial,
emotional, legal and psychological well being of the
American Family.
Why Choose Us?
Let us guess, the question of which attorney or website to
choose has been driving you mad. After all, these are your
most important decisions... decisions which shouldn't be left
to chance. There is Legal Zoom, with some of the documents you
need, but it lacks the critical legal advice. In fact, we are
cheaper than they are, and their lack of advice will end up
costing you even more.
Your other option is an attorney with plenty of advice: they
merely want your first born as payment. Allow us to help…We
are founded on the belief starting companies, forming asset
protection trusts and planning your estate should not be
prohibitively expensive.
Now, your next question is probably… why do we charge so
little? There are three answers. The first is because we have
streamlined most of our back office processes. You'll notice
we can collect your payment and information online. This both
reduces errors and minimizes time spent. We pass these savings
along to you. The second answer is because we would rather
make money through higher volume than higher prices. Helping a
thousand average people a year supersedes assisting a dozen
High Networth Individuals. The third is that we have done this
for thousands of clients and can quickly identify what makes
your situation unique and how to help you.
Mark Pierce
Skilled businessman, accountant and attorney with extensive
experience in diverse areas of the law, including bankruptcy,
corporations, estate planning, limited partnerships, limited
liability companies, mergers and acquisitions, oil and gas,
securities, tax, transportation and real estate. Essentially,
a life-time planning and preserving estates; primarily through
complex tax and state law planning strategies, but also
through experience with debtor/creditor relationships and
bankruptcy.
Highlighted Business Achievements:
Assisted in developing and managing from 1989 until 2000 a
publicly and then privately-held software company which grew
from a start up in 1986 to over $50M in sales by 1999, two
years after our sale of the entity but while still working for
the new owners.
Acquired in 2004 and grew systemically, and via acquisitions,
a transportation company with local, interstate and
international operations. This required a complete retooling
of management, staff and operations and the creation of a
cultural environment devoted to service. The company had $3.2M
in gross revenues in 2003 which topped at $11.6M in 2009.
Shortened Resume:
-
CEO and Owner – Sunset Moving & Storage - Fort Lauderdale,
FL: 2004 to 2011
-
Partner and In-House Counsel – Coral Companies - Denver, CO,
and San Jose, CA: 1989 to 2000
-
Associate –Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll – Denver, CO:
1983 to 1989
- JD – University of Colorado – Boulder, CO (1983)
- Moot Court Competition
- Top 15% Class Rank
Highlighted Legal Achievements:
Worked in the estate planning section of a large
multi-national law firm for two years representing the
interests of three large, old east coast families. This
rotation was done under the auspices of one of the most highly
respect estate planning attorneys in the business at the time
Drafted registration statements and assisted in bringing
effective approximately 15 initial public offerings and 10
secondary offerings from 1983 through 2000, drafted offering
memorandums for approximately 40 private placements and
managed approximately ten mergers/acquisitions. Represented
numerous public companies in their Exchange Act filings,
including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, 13D and Forms 3 and 4 and in
developing their Exchange Act compliance procedures.
Family Story
Our family moved to the United States in the 1600s. They
were starving in Norway and so Michigan, where people
weren't starving, was viewed as a great alternative. Most of
our family remained farmers during this era, but some moved
to Ohio and helped found Oberlin College. Fast forward two
hundred years and our family had migrated to Wyoming. They
took their skills at pumping water wells and began drilling
for oil instead! Here is our family fortune in 1921:
And here it is again later that year:
Needless to say, we continued working for a living. Our
family managed to rebuild and formed a successful oil field
services company which lasted through the 1970s. It survived
two World Wars, a Great Depression and catastrophic medical
accidents. What finally did it in? Estate taxes and a messy
divorce. Worse yet, the family visited an estate planning
attorney, but thought the $100 per hour fee was
extravagant... until the estate tax bill came due.
Hence our saying that while professional advice may be
expensive, not getting it costs a whole lot more.
Finally, here is a picture of Mark's father Bruce as a 13
year old. Driving laws were more lax then than now:
Mark's Full Resume
Qualifications Summary
Skilled businessman, accountant and attorney with extensive
experience in diverse areas of the law, including bankruptcy,
corporations, estate planning, limited partnerships, limited
liability companies, mergers and acquisitions, oil and gas,
securities, tax, transportation and real estate. Essentially,
a life-time planning and preserving estates; primarily through
complex tax and state law planning strategies, but also
through experience with debtor/creditor relationships and
bankruptcy.
Litigation experience primarily in federal court: bankruptcy
and securities. Excellent writing and communication skills
acquired through hard work since I have very little natural
writing skill.
Key Accomplishments
In 2011 had a "Forrest Gump Moment" and decided (with
substantial input from my family) to move back to my home
state of Wyoming after more than 25 years away, occupying our
family's residence in Story (near Sheridan) which we had
inherited after the death of my parents. Took over an existing
tax and estate planning practice in Sheridan and began
changing the primary focus of that practice to the
implementation of family business generational transition
strategies. Attended several seminars in 2012, 2013 and 2014
and re-tooled the practice to provide an effective platform
for the implementation of this focus, including a professional
assistance network with individuals and firms throughout the
U.S. with an emphasis in this type of estate planning.
Acquired in 2004 and grew through acquisitions and
systemically a transportation company with local, interstate
and international operations. This required a complete
retooling of management, staff and operations and the creation
of a cultural environment devoted to service. The company had
$3.2M in gross revenues in 2003 which topped at $11.6M in
2009. This was a complex business from the stand point of
governmental regulation and required not only skill in
corporate management and development, but also intense and
prolonged interaction with governmental agencies, including
the DOD, DOT and GSA. Sold and liquidated this business in
early 2012.
Assisted in developing and managing from 1989 until 2000 a
publicly and then privately-held software company which grew
from a start up in 1986 to over $50M in sales by 1999, two
years after our sale of the entity but while still working for
the new owners. Acquired opportunities for the business,
including products and management in a private equity
capacity, which primarily involved tax structuring under IRC
368 and related Code provisions. Oversaw legal, finance and
public report functions and assisted HR with a staff of
approximately 120 people. Worked with diverse cultural and
ethnic groups (Chinese, Indians, Texans and Brits) and
consumed in excess of $3M in accounting and legal services
over an 11 year period which now allows me to effectively
evaluate professional services from several stand points not
normally found within the legal community.
Drafted registration statements and assisted in bringing
effective approximately 15 initial public offerings and 10
secondary offerings from 1983 through 2000, drafted offering
memorandums for approximately 40 private placements and
managed approximately ten mergers/acquisitions. Represented
numerous public companies in their Exchange Act filings,
including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, 13D and Forms 3 and 4 and in
developing their Exchange Act compliance procedures.
Worked in a municipal bond department for two years drafting
memorandum and providing for closings at the state, municipal
and special improvement district level. Extensive tax and
state issue research function. Assisted in developing a
schematic for funding and implementing privately-held
"security facilities," writing the definitive constitutional
law memorandum on the subject, which was rejected by my firm
and, subsequently, accepted by Gary Hart's firm, which made a
fortune through the financing of privately-held prisons on the
back of my efforts.
Managed approximately 1,000 Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases as a
Panel Trustee for the District of Colorado from 1988 through
1990. Prepared and filed as debtor's counsel approximately ten
Chapter 11 proceedings and too many Chapter 7 proceedings to
even count or remember. Litigated on behalf of debtor several
"exceptions" claims and other matters and won all of them –
resulting in my obtaining a large Arizona banking organization
as a client approximately two months before it folded in 1990.
Represented clients before the Securities and Exchange
Commission on informal and formal investigations. Secured no
action conclusions in most instances and represented three
U.S. District Court cases to satisfactory results. Worked as
second chair with Leonard Davis (Chicago 7 fame) in
representing Joe "the Pig" Pignatiello, winning a directed
verdict in a widely publicized criminal securities case.
Worked in the estate planning section of a large
multi-national law firm for two years representing the
interests of three large, old east coast families. This
rotation was done under the auspices of one of the most highly
respect estate planning attorneys in the business at the time.
Continued to hone these skills over the past 30 years through
the experience listed above. Experience and Education.
CEO and Owner – Sunset Moving & Storage - Fort Lauderdale, FL:
2004 to 2011 • Partner and In-House Counsel – Coral Companies
- Denver, CO, and San Jose, CA: 1989 to 2000 • Associate
–Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll – Denver, CO: 1983 to
1989 • JD – University of Colorado – Boulder, CO (1983); Moot
Court Competition; Top 15% Class Rank • Staff Tax Accountant –
Coopers & Lybrand - Denver, CO: 1980 • CPA – Wyoming - Passed
examination on first sitting: 1979; Beta Alpha Psi Honor
Society
Bachelor of Science, Accounting (Honors) – University of
Wyoming – Laramie, WY: 1979 Publications The Colorado Lawyer
(1985): Securities Act Section 4(1)(1/2): Judicial Exemption
as Applied to the Closely-held Business; University of
Colorado Law Review: The Convertible, Participating Mortgage:
Federal Income Tax Considerations with Professor Norton L.
Steuben
