Legal, Transactions & Compliance

Stewarding Land, Legacy, and Operations with Legal Precision

In today's complex agricultural economy, every land transaction, entity decision, and compliance requirement carries lasting consequences for your wealth, legacy, and operations. Our team of board-certified farm and ranch lawyers, experienced tax professionals, and trained regulatory experts provide clear, actionable legal solutions that protect your assets, maximize your potential, and advance your goals, all without conflicts of interest or product sales agendas.

Board-Certified Farm & Ranch Real Estate Specialists

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Licensed across the nation

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45+ Years Combined Ag Legal Experience

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Serving family offices, institutional investors & multi-generational landowners

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Board-Certified Farm & Ranch Real Estate Specialists ✓ Licensed across the nation ✓ 45+ Years Combined Ag Legal Experience ✓ Serving family offices, institutional investors & multi-generational landowners ✓

The Difference Between Generic Legal and Agricultural Legal Precision

Most attorneys understand contracts and entity structures. Few understand how water rights, grazing leases, conservation easements, NRCS classifications, and subsurface mineral interests intersect with tax strategy, succession planning, and operational reality—especially across multiple states.

What Sets Us Apart:

Integrated Agricultural Expertise
We don't just practice farm law—we live it. Our attorneys work alongside agronomists, CPAs, and ranch managers, ensuring your legal strategy aligns with soil health, herd genetics, carbon markets, and operational cash flow.

Independence and Objectivity
We are not lenders, brokers, or product providers. Our only obligation is to you—delivering conflict-free guidance across every capital provider, program, and legal pathway available.

Multi-State, Multi-Jurisdictional Mastery
Agricultural operations don't stop at state lines. Neither do we. From Texas ranch acquisitions to Midwest farmland 1031 exchanges to California water law complexities, we navigate the regulatory and legal nuances that protect your position.

Comprehensive Legal Services for Land, Legacy & Operations

Complex Agricultural Transactions

Structuring and executing farm, ranch, and agribusiness acquisitions, sales, and leases, including due diligence, purchase agreements, and closing coordination for deals ranging from single parcels to multi-million-dollar portfolios.
Title, Rights & Due Diligence

Managing title review, boundary disputes, easements (access, conservation, utility), water and mineral rights, and subsurface use issues across rural properties, ensuring clean, defendable ownership and proper rights allocation, while optimizing water rights, analyzing mineral interests, and supporting natural resource valuation.
Tax-Efficient Entity Structuring

Designing and implementing LLCs, limited partnerships, family trusts, and holding structures that minimize tax exposure, facilitate succession, and protect assets from creditors and operational liabilities.
Federal, State & Agricultural Regulatory Compliance

Guiding compliance with USDA, NRCS, FSA, state ag departments, environmental regulations, zoning, and permitting, keeping operations legal, eligible for incentives, and protected from enforcement actions.
Succession, Estate & 1031 Exchange Strategies

Planning multi‑generational transitions, structuring 1031 like‑kind exchanges, coordinating estate tax strategies, and designing succession frameworks that provide comprehensive estate and wealth‑transfer tax planning for land‑rich families, including multi‑jurisdictional real estate and entity structuring.
Contract Drafting & Negotiation

Creating and reviewing operating agreements, joint venture terms, management contracts, livestock purchase agreements, equipment leases, and agribusiness partnership structures.
Dispute Resolution & Litigation Support

Representing clients in boundary disputes, water rights conflicts, breach of contract claims, partnership dissolutions, and regulatory enforcement matters, pursuing resolution through negotiation, mediation, or litigation as needed.

Family Offices & Multi-Generational Landowners: Managing 1,000+ acres, multiple entities, and cross-state holdings requiring coordinated legal, tax, and succession strategies.
Institutional Investors & REITs: Acquiring, managing, or divesting farmland and ranch portfolios where title clarity, regulatory compliance, and entity structuring affect returns and risk.
Agribusiness Operators & Partnerships: Structuring joint ventures, operating agreements, and capital partnerships for row crop operations, livestock enterprises, and value-added ag ventures.
Foreign Investors Entering U.S. Markets: Navigating FIRPTA, state-level foreign ownership restrictions, entity formation, and compliance for international capital deploying into U.S. agriculture.
Conservation & Carbon Project Developers: Structuring conservation easements, carbon credit agreements, and ecosystem service contracts that align legal, financial, and environmental goals.

Trusted by Those Who Make High-Stakes Land Decisions

Our legal services are designed for clients navigating complex, high-value agricultural and land decisions: where precision, experience, and independence matter most.

Legal Services Work Best with Integrated Advisory Support

With LandWise Partners, legal strategy never operates in isolation. Our attorneys collaborate directly with:

Financial Strategists: Aligning entity structures with capital stack, lending terms, and exit strategies.
Tax Advisors: Coordinating 1031 exchanges, estate planning, and entity formation for maximum tax efficiency.
Agronomists & Soil Specialists: Ensuring NRCS compliance, conservation easement language, and carbon project contracts align with operational realities.
Governmental Affairs Advisors: Securing USDA, FSA, and state-level incentives that require specific legal structures or compliance certifications.