
Mark E. Hauck
Mark Hauck is a founding member of HHBJ Law specializing in business law. He is recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer, a Best Lawyer in America and DBusiness Top Lawyer. Before HHBJ Law, he practiced at a national law firm headquartered in Detroit for over thirty-one years, serving as the head of the Business Litigation Practice Group and as Assistant General Counsel. His legal career spanning thirty-five years has been dedicated to serving businesses and their owners. Mr. Hauck has the unique ability to mesh his skills as an aggressive trial attorney with his deep knowledge and experience as a practical business lawyer. As a result, he is equally comfortable in a courtroom and a board room. He is laser focused on achieving results while controlling the legal costs incurred by his clients.
Experience
Privately Owned Business Disputes
Mr. Hauck is a recognized expert on matters arising out of privately owned businesses. He works with business owners to form new companies assisting in decisions regarding business type and structure and drafting operating agreements and shareholder or member agreements. Mr. Hauck also has a long history of handling shareholder disputes, business break-ups and matters involving business owners’ fiduciary duties. He has helped to develop the law in Michigan governing privately owned business disputes, including contributing to provisions in the Michigan Business Corporation Act that govern such matters and as a respected contributor to the Michigan Business Law Journal. Mr. Hauck’s three decades of experience in this area of the law makes him uniquely qualified to counsel business owners concerning the diverse matters that arise in closely held corporations and limited liability companies.
Breach of Contract Disputes
Mr. Hauck has handled myriad breach of contract cases, including multi-million dollar joint-venture disputes, Uniform Commercial Code (Article 2 Sales) cases, franchise terminations and claims arising out of buy/sell agreements and operating agreements. He has litigated disputes over manufacturers’ rep contracts and high stakes lease disputes and real property foreclosures. His knowledge and experience in finance, accounting, business valuation, and damage analysis allows him to hit the ground running when he is retained to handle such cases.
Investor Advisor Disputes
Mr. Hauck has handled myriad breach of contract cases,
including multi-million dollar joint-venture disputes, Uniform
Commercial Code (Article 2 Sales) cases, franchise
terminations and claims arising out of buy/sell agreements
and operating agreements. He has litigated disputes over manufacturers’ rep contracts and high stakes lease dispute sand real property foreclosures. His knowledge and experience in finance, accounting, business valuation,and damage analysis allows him to hit the ground running when he is retained to handle such cases.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
As a certified mediator and arbitrator, Mr. Hauck assists other attorneys in resolving business disputes outside of the courtroom. His expertise in commercial and business matters makes him especially effective either as a mediator to facilitate settlement or as an arbitrator to decide cases that cannot be settled amicably. He was a pioneer in the development of Michigan’s Business Courts and participated in initiatives by the Michigan Supreme Court’s Office of Dispute Resolution that made early mediation a centerpiece of these new forums.Through these efforts he has obtained a wealth of insights and experience in the effective use of alternative dispute resolution to effectively and efficiently address business disputes.
Significant Recent Results
- Obtained multi-million dollar settlement in favor of an investor defrauded by Registered Investment Advisor.
- Successfully defended majority shareholder of privately owned Tier Two automobile supplier against shareholder oppression claims.
- Successfully defended directors accused of breaching their fiduciary duties in connection with the sale of company subsidiary to private equity firm.
- Recovered multi-million dollar verdict against controlling shareholder of Michigan corporation on behalf of oppressed minority shareholder.
- Negotiated the buy-out of shareholders in business owning multiple automobile dealerships.
- Successfully defended transportation logistics company in breach of contract case by carrier.
Seminars, Speeches & Publications
Electronic Communications and Discovery in the 21st Century.Litigation Management in a New York Minute (2015 Edition), a Trial.Com Litigation Management SuperCourse, New York, NY, August 7, 2015
Effective Alternate Dispute Resolutions Approaches and Strategies, Litigation Management in a New York Minute (2013 Edition), a Trial.Com Litigation Management SuperCourse, New York, NY, August 9, 2013
21st Century Legal Fee Arrangements: A Brave New World, Litigation Management Supercourse, Litigation Management in a NEW YORK Minute, Trial.com, New York, NY, August 10, 2012
Technology in the Courtroom, The Network of Trial Law Firms’ Conference: A New Decade of Challenges for In-House Counsel, Scottsdale, AZ, April 23, 2010
“Shareholder Oppression and the Direct/Derivative Distinction”, Summer 2007, The Michigan Business Law Journal,Volume XXVII, Issue II
“Franchino v. Franchino: A Serious Blow to Minority Shareholder Oppression Lawsuits in Michigan”, Summer 2005, The Michigan Business Law Journal, Volume XXV, Issue II
Awards & Recognition
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, 2013 – Present
Named to Michigan Super Lawyers, 2011-2019
- Commercial Litigation (2013-2020)
- Closely Held Companies and Family Business (2020)
- Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions (2020)
12 Attorneys Receive “Lawyer of the Year” Honors, August 18, 2015
Named to DBusiness List of 2019 Top Lawyers