Blau, Charles W.

Michael R. Blaser is a member of BrownWinick and a member of the firm's Management Committee. Mike also serves as the Chair of the firm's Agribusiness practice group.

Mike provides his clients with timely and pragmatic solutions to their legal issues. He represents business clients in all facets of the legal issues that they face - from start-up choice of entity issues and entity formation, to guiding and negotiating equity capital formation and financing packages to negotiating key purchase, supply and employee contracts. Mike has also advised businesses facing financial difficulties and routinely handles business sales, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions.

From 1995 to 2000, Mike served as general counsel to Iowa Select Farms, a pork production company based in Iowa Falls, Iowa that is now the fourth largest hog producer in the United States. Before and since his work with Iowa Select, Mike has been actively involved in value-added agriculture, particularly in the livestock industry. Based on his experience, Mike advises agricultural clients in Iowa and other states as to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations that affect their businesses.

Mike also has considerable experience dealing with corporate farming laws in Iowa and other upper Midwest states. He is a registered lobbyist in Iowa and represents agricultural clients on legislation of interest, including major livestock regulation laws enacted in 1995, 1998 and 2002 and the rules adopted to implement those laws.

A frequent speaker to industry and bar association groups on business and environmental issues, Mike serves on the Section Council of the Agricultural Law Committee of the Iowa Bar Association. He has also written legal issue columns for Feedstuffs magazine. Mike is a member of the National Pork Producer's Council Environmental Committee. He was appointed by Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to the Nutrient Work Group for the Governor's 2003 Iowa Water Summit and by Mike Johanns, United States Secretary of Agriculture to the USDA Agricultural Air Quality Task Force for 2006-2008. Since 2006, Mike has been selected as a leader in Iowa for inclusion in Chambers USA® in the area of corporate/M&A.

A certified public accountant, Mike has served on the Board of Directors and in other leadership roles with the Iowa Society of CPAs. He also serves on the Finance Council for St. Francis of Assisi Parish in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Mike received his B.B.A. in accounting and his J.D., with distinction, from the University of Iowa and was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1985.