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One Centerpointe Drive, Suite 505, Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035
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Mark O'Donnell

Principal

503-274-1155

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Attorney Mark O’Donnell knows business — and the inner workings of business dealings — inside and out.

Mark O’Donnell has been practicing law in Oregon since 1968. Mark’s first 14 years of his career was spent as a trial lawyer. This trial experience gives Mark a unique perspective as a business lawyer in that he can see the whole picture when working with the client. He has acquired a vast reservoir of practical insights in assisting clients with the selection of business entities, the acquisition and sale of businesses, general economic development, and all aspects of real estate development and finance. He formulates recommendations to his clients in these areas with respect to capitalization and financing, state and federal taxation issues, risk management and asset protection planning, succession planning for family-owned and non-family-owned businesses and real estate acquisition, development and financing.  His knowledge of liability and property insurance and experience with adverse insurers allows him to advise clients in this very important area when formulating recommendations as a business lawyer.

One focus of Mark’s practice has been to advise charitable entities and tax-exempt trade associations in the areas of tax-exempt status, IRS audits, unrelated business income tax, joint ventures, formation of subsidiaries, political contributions, campaign finance, and risk management, including association professional liability insurance (directors and officers’ liability insurance).  Mark is the author of numerous articles on the duty of directors of nonprofit corporations, directors and officers’ liability insurance and tax-exempt status compliance.  He is also the author of “A Wake-Up Call for Executive Directors, Nonprofit Directors and Nonprofits after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.”

Mark’s background as a land-use lawyer and litigator of land-use cases, coupled with his experience as a real estate lawyer in projects ranging from $25,000 to $35 million, allows him to help his clients effectuate their business goals timely and efficiently. Mark has substantial experience in the closing of sale and purchases of real estate, preparing opinions as seller’s counsel and title insurance matters. Mark has the highest legal and ethical rating — Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 determined by his peers and clients.  This rating gives him substantial credibility with counsel for lenders when he is rendering opinions as borrower’s counsel.

Mark is a veteran of four recessions.  He has achieved a wealth of practical experience and knowledge in assisting his clients in loan modifications and workout agreements with secured lenders.  Mark’s “downside” experience has enabled him to assist his clients in difficult times with difficult lenders.

Mark has substantial experience in using Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to assist his clients in times of liquidity/cash-flow crisis which have been compounded by shortsighted lenders.  He has successfully helped clients restructure and modify loan terms with both secured and unsecured creditors.  His knowledge of regulatory requirements for lenders has helped him achieve loan modifications in significant dollar amounts by knowing what a regulated lender can and cannot do.  While Mark has successfully quarterbacked five reorganizations under the Bankruptcy Code for his clients, he has more often used Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code as a tool to achieve what he refers to as a “private reorganization,” as opposed to a filing under Chapter 11.

 

ABOUT THE ATTORNEY — Mark P. O’Donnell practices law at O’Donnell Law Firm LLC in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He is a member of the Oregon State Bar and the Multnomah Bar Association. As a member of the American Bar Association, he has been appointed to the ABA Committees on Dispute Resolution, Small Business, the ABA Sub-Committee on Closely Held Business Entities, and Real Property, Trust & Estate Law. He is also a charter member of the Legal Section of the American Society of Association Executives and the Manufactured Housing Attorney Network. He is the first Oregon lawyer to be invited to join the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys.

Education

  • Gonzaga University (B.A. 1965) (cum laude)
  • Willamette University (J.D. 1968)

Recent Awards & Recognitions

Mark O’Donnell and other members of the Oregon State Bar’s Class of 1968 marked their 50th year of membership with a celebration at the Tualatin Country Club on March 16, 2018. Thirty-six class members along with family, friends, colleagues and the Board of Governors attended the luncheon in their honor.

Recent Newsletters

Committees

  • ABA Taxation Committee

More about Mark O’Donnell

Blaming, value judging, and comparing ourselves to others are destructive actions that short-circuit our personal power, our possibilities, and our happiness….  When we accept ourselves unconditionally, and accept other people unconditionally, the quality of our lives will dramatically improve.   Mike Wickett