Forestry

Adams and Reese advises forestry companies, loggers, lumber mills, large private landowners, timber investors – TIMOs, REITs, pension funds, and agricultural and other lenders – state forestry associations, forest products trade groups, conservation entities, forest equipment manufacturers and retailers and special interest forestry groups on a full range of business, environmental, regulatory and labor issues.

We help our forestry clients both protect and recover assets as well as avoid claims and liabilities. We advise on multimillion land and timber acquisitions and sales as well as the acquisitions and sales of mills and other facilities. We also represent clients in wind and biofuel energy development, green certifications and green products, and we advocate for and defend clients before regulatory and legislative bodies with regard to critical conservation, environmental, safety and administrative issues.

Sale of timberland. Our team advised International Paper Company on due diligence, including title review and preparation of closing documents, for the sale of approximately 3 million acres in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee as part of the sale of some 6 million acres in 17 states. Our counsel included advice on public finance, governmental relations, corporate and environmental laws, tax, real estate and other areas of law. Our ability to mobilize a team quickly from various offices for time-sensitive transactions was a major component of our success.
Forestry lease litigation. We have represented TIMOs in complex forestry lease litigation and arbitration disputes.
Tax advantaged timberland investments. When a bank client sought to restructure some of its timberland investments, one of our lawyers developed a tax-advantaged timberland note structure resulting in $2.3 billion of highly strategic transactions closed over a 10-year period.
Credit facilities for timber. We represented a national agricultural lender in numerous credit facilities, typically ranging between $20 million and $75 million, each secured by timberland assets across numerous states.
REIT. We served as legal and transactional advisor to a newly-formed, United States based timberland REIT and successfully guided it through an initial $400 million timberland acquisition.

Summary

Adams and Reese forestry lawyers address an extensive array of issues facing entities in the forestry sector. We advise on transactions, including land and timber acquisitions and sales, acquisition and sales of mills and other facilities, financing of forestry transactions, long and short-term fiber supply agreements, real estate development, options and leases and title insurance services. We provide counsel on green forestry, including interpreting current law and policy trends for wind energy, green certifications and green products, carbon sequestration, biomass facilities and contracts, BCAP advice, conservation easements and water resources. This includes advocacy, drafting of model laws and defense against potentially damaging legislation to the goals of sustainable forestry.

We also advise on forest land management such as contracts with vendors and suppliers and consultants, endangered species consultation, wetlands consultation, tax, oil and gas development and surface use agreements, wildlife management issues, endangered species consultation, and real and personal property tax assessment advice. Finally, we handle dispute resolution – through negotiation, arbitration, mediation or litigation of conflicts in transactions, green forestry, and management and business services. We also represent clients in traditional forestry disputes involving eminent domain, labor and employment, wrongful cutting, interpretation of mill contracts and specifications, good forestry practices and long-term leases, among others.

"We understand forestry, we know the key players in the forest industry, and we are recognized as experienced forestry attorneys with a broad knowledge of forestry transactions and disputes. We not only know forestry law, we know forestry. We can talk as fluently with foresters as we do with investors. Clients from all corners of the forestry industry rely on us as a trusted advisor in a wide variety of matters.” - Gee Ogletree, Forestry Practice Team Leader