Bart W. Howk

Bart W. Howk is a member of the firm’s transactional department. He concentrates his practice in business and real-estate transactions.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Howk’s practice covers:

• Negotiating various types of business deals and contracts, including business loans, license agreements, independent-contractor agreements, consulting agreements, advertising and marketing agreements, and buy-sell agreements
• Negotiating and performing complex real-estate purchases and sales, including drafting term sheets, conducting due diligence, and reviewing preclosing title issues
• Negotiating commercial real-estate leases and subleases, including office leases, retail leases, and ground leases
• All aspects of real-estate development, including condominium and subdivision creation, preparing for sales, and drafting condominium public reports
• Advising on creation and organization of for-profit and nonprofit entities
• Corporate restructuring, including mergers and acquisitions, transfers of ownership interests, and conversions of entity type

Mr. Howk’s representative clients and transactions include:

• Representing purchaser of 3,500 acres of Parker Ranch land on the Island of Hawaii
• Representing developer of 65-acre development on the Island of Hawaii in acquiring, developing, and administrating the project
• Representing Japanese tourist company in various business negotiations and transactions, including publishing magazines, selling tour activities, renting trolleys, providing loyalty card rewards, and selling advertisements
• Representing developer in negotiation of agreement with the County of Hawaii to develop potable water wells
• Representing various purchasers of luxury homes and lots on the Islands of Hawaii, Kauai, and Oahu in contract negotiations and closings
• Negotiating and drafting agreements in connection with providing recreational sailing tours and catamaran cruises in Waikiki
• Representing a business owner in the sale of a partial ownership interest for $138,000,000, including drafting various documents necessary to create, merge, and convert the corporate forms of various entities in connection with the transaction
• Performing business legal work for the fifth-largest insurance company in the world, including drafting independent-marketing organization contracts, ensuring agent compliance with the law, resolving insured and annuitant complaints, drafting documents for various business transactions, and assisting in preparations and defense against potential litigation
• Handling all daily transfers of interests (including purchasing, selling, and transfer of interests between owners) of business entities across the United States for one of the largest healthcare-management companies in the nation
• Performing legal work for the general counsel of a quasi-governmental entity, including drafting reports to the Board of Directors regarding proposed transactions and analyzing whether the entity was subject to open-record and open-meetings laws
• Negotiating and drafting the documents necessary for the asset purchases of child day-care centers

Education
J.D., University of Kansas School of Law
M.B.A., University of Kansas School of Business
University of Kansas Law Review, Member

Clerkships
Law Clerk, Honorable Paul M. Spinden, Western District Court of Appeals of Missouri, 2006–2007

Bar Admissions
State of Hawaii
State of Kansas
State of Missouri
U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii
U.S. District Court, District of Kansas

Activities
Hawaii State Bar Association, Member
Hawaii State Bar Association Leadership Institute Fellow, 2011-2012
2011 Landshark Invitational Surf Competition, Open Novice Division - 1st Place
760 KGU: The Fives of Hawaii Business, Co-Host