Michael J. Book

Mr. Book excels in all areas of business transactions and corporate governance. He serves as general counsel for multiple business organizations, including commercial real estate firms, a global foreign-market expansion consulting company, an auto-transport brokerage firm, residential housing developers and non-profit organizations. He has handled multi-million dollar mergers, acquisitions and asset sales. He counsels clients on all aspects of large and small business operations, including employment matters, estate planning, vendor agreements and dispute resolution. Mr. Book has assisted several non-profit organizations with formation and corporate governance issues, including counseling organizations with respect to inclusion in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops IRS Group Ruling exemption.

Mr. Book has particular expertise in all aspects of real estate transactions, including commercial real estate sales and purchases, commercial and residential development, zoning and land-use planning. He works on a daily basis with real estate investors and developers on a regional and national scope. Primary clients in his real estate practice include a major regional grocery store chain, a national shopping center developer and an office complex management company.

His practice also includes private and public financing. Mr. Book is very familiar with public incentives financing for real estate transactions, including tax increment financing, improvement districts and sales tax enhancements. His private financing work has focused on asset-based lending transactions such as real estate mortgages, ground leasing and other forms of security. His practice includes financing and refinancing transactions involving Fannie Mae, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Missouri Housing Development Commission and the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing. In addition to his practice, Mr. Book has served as an adjunct professor teaching Real Estate Finance at the University of Kansas School of Law.

Mr. Book also specializes in lease negotiations and drafting. He has had experience with leasing for offices, commercial and industrial properties, retail properties and residential properties. 

Mr. Book is a native of Topeka, Kansas, where he attended Topeka West High School. He is married to Sarah (Muessig) Book, and has four children - Caleb, Molly, Frances and Will.  They live in Shawnee, Kansas.

Court Memberships

• Missouri
• Kansas 

Honors

• Jackalope Award for Outstanding Client Service, Lathrop & Gage LLP, 2007
• UMB Bank, Excellence in Estate Planning Award, 2001
• Order of the Coif
• University of Kansas Law Review, Note and Comment Editor
• Phi Kappa Phi 
• Homecoming King, Emporia State University, 1996

Professional Affiliations

• Member, International Council of Shopping Centers
• Advising Member, Parkville, Missouri Economic Development Commission
• Chair, Advisory Board, Holy Family School of Faith Institute, Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas
• Spirit Committee, Little Sisters of the Lamb, Kansas City, Kansas
• Ministry Lead, Men At Sacred Heart, Men’s Formation Ministry, Sacred Heart Church, Shawnee, KS
• Advisory Board, St. Joseph’s Institute for the Deaf, 2001-2006
• Adjunct Professor, University of Kansas School of Law, 2003-2006 

Publications

• Author, Group Suspicion: The Key to Evaluating Student Drug Testing, 48 U. Kan L. Rev. 637 (2000)

Presentations

• Speaker, Drafting Broker and Sales Agreements in Consumer Real Estate Transactions: Traps for the Unwary, Nationally Broadcast Telephone Seminar Sponsored by The Professional Education Broadcast Network, March 2007
• Speaker, Key Principles of Residential Real Estate Buy-Sell and Brokerage Agreements, Nationally Broadcast Telephone Seminar Sponsored by The Professional Education Broadcast Network, March 2007