Michael J. Franco
Member
Email: mfranco@francolaw.com

Practice Areas: Real Estate; Real Estate Development; Zoning, Planning and Land Use; Corporate Law; Commercial Law; Partnership Law; Estate Planning; Trusts and Estates.

Admitted: 1985, Vermont; 1986, Massachusetts; 1987, New Hampshire and Connecticut

Law School: Vermont Law School, J.D., 1985

College: Merrimack College, B.A., 1981

Member: Connecticut (Member, Planning and Zoning Section), Massachusetts and New Hampshire Bar Associations; Rotary International.

Biography: President, Student Bar Association, Vermont Law School, 1983-1985. Formerly with Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.

Born: Stamford, Connecticut, November 19, 1959

ISLN: 907302320

Michael Franco has been a practicing attorney since 1985. His primary areas of practice are commercial and residential real estate, business law, estate planning, and trusts and estates.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Franco spent seven years as a corporate attorney in the real estate business. During four of those years he was corporate counsel for Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., the national residential real estate development company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. As counsel for Hovnanian, Mr. Franco assembled land deals for projects ranging from large subdivisions to hundreds of condominium units. This gave him extensive experience in contracts, real estate transactions and land use law. He also gained direct experience in drafting and negotiating partnership agreements on large real estate transactions. When Mr. Franco opened his private practice in 1993, he continued his area of expertise in the real estate field and has been doing residential and commercial transactions and partnership agreements since then. Mr. Franco also spent a year as corporate counsel for Central Vermont Public Service Corporation, also a NYSE company. In this role he gained experience in contracts and equipment leasing and participated routinely in administrative hearings.

Mr. Franco's practice also includes business formation in the areas of limited liability companies, corporations and partnerships. He has helped clients form enterprises and secure funding from investors and lenders. He has drafted and reviewed numerous private placement memorandums and has helped his clients raise millions of dollars in private equity sales. Mr. Franco also acts as a general counsel to these firms, assisting in matters ranging from contract preparation and negotiation to employee matters. Mr. Franco's strong background in business and taxation helps him provide sound counsel to his clients by applying both business and legal perspectives.

Mr. Franco has an extensive trust and estates practice. He has a strong background in taxation and has used this knowledge to help his clients plan their estates. Mr. Franco has also developed significant experience in drafting special needs trusts for parents of children with disabilities.