Blake W. Bourland concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate law, business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, commercial leasing, and qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs). Mr. Bourland started practicing law with Evans Petree PC upon his graduation from law school and is licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Arkansas.
His broad and diverse practice allows him to represent several types of clients. In his corporate practice, he advises family-owned and other privately-held companies in a variety of matters, including general corporate representation and counsel, choice of entity, corporate restructurings, financing, leasing and various types of business contracts. The following are illustrations of the types of transactions in Mr. Bourland’s practice:
- Representation of a seller in the sale of a multi-unit franchise system;
- Representation of a franchisee of a national brand relating to general corporate needs, including corporate formation, reorganization, and negotiation of various contracts and real property leases;
- Representation of a seller in the sale of a party rental business to a national corporation;
- Representation of a purchaser in the acquisition of multiple heavy-duty truck dealerships;
- Representation of a landlord of an upscale retail center in the negotiation of retail leases with national tenants;
- Representation of a purchaser in the acquisition of three related manufacturing entities out of bankruptcy through a Section 351 transaction;
- Representation of a tenant in the negotiation of leases for industrial space in various locations throughout the Unites States;
- Representation of a national franchisor relating to its general corporate needs;
- Representation of a seller in the sale of a pharmaceutical distribution company;
- Representation of a seller of a multi-location dental practice;
- Representation of a seller in the sale of a dental practice management company;
- Representation of a purchaser in the acquisition of a pediatric dental practice;
- Representation of a purchaser in the acquisition of a nationwide automotive aftermarket distribution business.
In his QDRO practice, Mr. Bourland represents participants and alternate payees in drafting qualified domestic relations orders assigning benefits in qualified plans. Mr. Bourland has drafted hundreds of QDROs and worked with plan administrators throughout the United States. He also commonly advises family law practitioners in the negotiation of retirement benefits and has taught Continuing Legal Education seminars to other attorneys on retirement benefits and qualified domestic relations orders.
Mr. Bourland is a member of the American, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Memphis Bar Associations and has previously served on the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee for the Memphis Bar Association. He was a participant in the inaugural classes of both the Nexus Leadership Program and the Memphis Bar Association Leadership Forum and was an associate member of the Leo Bearman, Sr. chapter of the American Inn of Court.
In 2014, he was elected as a fellow of the Memphis Bar Foundation for his devoted and distinguished service to the legal profession in the City of Memphis. He has been selected by fellow attorneys to the Mid-South Super Lawyers list multiple times, most recently in 2023, and previously to the Rising Stars list in the field of Business/Corporate. Mr. Bourland was also selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2024 in the field of Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Corporate Law, and Real Estate Law. This is his ninth year for inclusion.
Mr. Bourland has previously served on the St. Luke’s Day School Advisory Board of Directors, the Alumni Board of Presbyterian Day School, the Board of Directors of For The Kingdom, Inc., a Christian camp in Millington, Tennessee, whose purpose is to serve urban youth of the greater Memphis area, and the Board of Directors of RedZone Ministries, an evangelical outreach ministry whose goal is the social and spiritual renewal of the Orange Mound community. Mr. Bourland previously served as a commissioner on the City of Memphis Civil Service Commission, a governmental board which conducts hearings to review disciplinary actions by the City of Memphis against its employees. He was appointed by Mayor A C Wharton and re-appointed by Mayor Jim Strickland, confirmed by the City of Memphis City Council each time. He currently serves on the U.S. Advisory Board of Point Honduras, a partner project of the Orphanos Foundation and an organization that feeds and tutors hundreds of kids in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He is actively involved in his church, Fellowship Memphis, where he has served in various leadership capacities since its founding in 2003. He and his wife Kelly have two children, Libby and Knox.
