Jerald C. (Cliff) McKinney, II
Associate
Real Estate, Land Use and Business Transactions
Cliff McKinney is a real estate attorney at Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow PLLC. He has dedicated his career to the practice of real estate law, obtaining a level of education, skill, and experience in this area matched by few others which enables him to deliver an exceptional level of service to his clients. Mr. McKinney was recently selected as a Rising Star in the area of Real Estate for 2008 by Mid-South Super Lawyers.
Mr. McKinney's primary focus is the development of retail property, and he also has experience serving as a real estate advisor on litigation matters. In addition to working on the transactional aspects of a project, he assists clients with financing, business organization, environmental and land use issues. Mr. McKinney has served as lead counsel on dozens of multi-million dollar transactions throughout the mid-South region. His projects include the largest real estate transaction in the corporate history of a major global retailer.
Mr. McKinney has dedicated significant time developing skills to assist clients in navigating the regulatory approval process. He has undergone advanced training on Section 106 Compliance, which is the regulatory framework for dealing with culturally significant properties that could be adversely impacted by development, and Mr. McKinney was the first attorney in the State of Arkansas to obtain the status of LEED® Accredited Professional, which affords him the unique ability to assist clients with environmentally friendly green building projects.
Mr. McKinney attended the University of Arkansas where he obtained his Juris Doctor (cum laude) and a Master of Public Administration degree, which gives him insight into the administrative workings of the governmental entities that regulate real estate development. His focus on real estate began while he was a student at Southern Methodist University earning a Master of Laws degree emphasizing real estate. Prior to law school, Mr. McKinney was a National Merit Scholar at Baylor University. He is licensed to practice law in Arkansas (highest score on the Summer 2002 exam), Texas (2003) and Mississippi (2004).
Mr. McKinney has been elected Chair of the Real Estate Law Section of the Arkansas Bar Association for three terms. In that capacity, he spearheaded the creation of the ARKANSAS REAL ESTATE REVIEW and currently serves as one of its editors. Mr. McKinney has also been active in the legislative process through this role and his service on the Arkansas Bar Association's Jurisprudence and Law Reform Committee. He has testified before the Arkansas General Assembly on several occasions and been involved in drafting and vetting real estate-related legislation. In addition, Mr. McKinney has authored numerous real estate related articles, taught dozens of seminars and serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law where he teaches Real Estate Finance.
While Mr. McKinney enjoys the practice of law, he finds even more fulfillment with his participation in charitable and volunteer activities. Mr. McKinney currently serves as Chairman of Arkansas Rice Depot, the only statewide foodbank serving approximately 325,000 hungry Arkansans each year, including 23,000 desperately needy children in the Food For Kids backpack program. He also enjoys serving his fellow attorneys through volunteer service to the Arkansas Bar Association. In addition, Mr. McKinney is an active member of the Law School Committee and the Young Lawyers Section, serving on the Executive Council and as Chair of the Law Day Program.
Education
Southern Methodist University (LL.M., emphasizing Real Estate Financing, 2003)
Thesis: Cooperative Development: How Municipalities and Developers Can Achieve Mutually Beneficial Outcomes through Land Use Tools
University of Arkansas School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2002)
University of Arkansas (M.P.A., 2002)
Henry Alexander Arkansas City Management Association Scholarship
Baylor University (B.A., 1999)
National Merit Scholar
Associations and Affiliations
Member, American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate, and Trust Section and Business Law Section), Arkansas Bar Association (Chair, Real Estate Section, 2006-Present; Technology Committee, 2004-Present), Pulaski County Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Association, State Bar of Texas; Member, American Society for Public Administration, Arkansas Society for Public Administration, International Council of Shopping Centers, and Christian Legal Society
Speeches/Publications/Civic Activities (Partial List)
Civic Activities:
Arkansas Rice Depot, Board of Directors, 2005-Present (Chairman, 2008-Present; Vice-Chairman, 2006-2007).
Publications:Editor, ARKANSAS REAL ESTATE REVIEW, a Publication of the Arkansas Bar Association (2007 – Present)
Understanding the 2007 Revisions to the Arkansas Quiet Title Statutes: What Every Bank Should Know, THE ARKANSAS COMMUNITY BANKER (Spring 2008).
Wild Instruments, Surveyors Gone Bad, Confused Courthouses and Strip Clubs: Four Reasons to Use Caution When Drafting Deeds, THE ARKANSAS LAWYER, Vol. 42, No. 2 (2007).
As Long as It Doesn't Cost ME Anything: The Legitimacy and Politics of Impact Fees in Arkansas, with Kenneth Hansen, Ph.D., THE MID-SOUTH POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW, Vol. 8 (2005).
Factoring the Ambiguity: A Futile Attempt to Understand the Ambiguous Nature of the Integration Doctrine's Five Factor Test, 31 SECURITIES REGULATION LAW JOURNAL 337 (2003).
Speeches:Retail Incentives, UALR Institute for Economic Advancement, Retail Analysis and Development Course, Little Rock, Arkansas, October 9, 2008.
Arkansas Real Estate Review, 2008 Best of CLE, Arkansas Bar Association, Little Rock, Arkansas, June 23, 2008.
Plat and Subdivision Law in Arkansas, Lorman Education Services, Little Rock, Arkansas, March 11, 2008.
Law of Easements: Legal Issues and Practical Considerations, Lorman Education Services, Little Rock, August 24, 2007.
Public Infrastructure Upgrades: Who Should Pay?, International Council of Shopping Centers Law Conference, Roundtable Discussion, Orlando, Florida, October 27, 2006.
Take Me, I'm Yours—Recent Supreme Court Eminent Domain Case, 2006 Best of CLE, Arkansas Bar Association, Little Rock, Arkansas, June 29, 2006.
Attracting and Paying for Retail Development, Arkansas Economic Developers Spring 2006 Retail Presentation Seminar, Little Rock, Arkansas, June 2, 2006.
On the Impact of Infrastructure and Transportation Capabilities on Retail and Economic Development, Transportation Research Board, International Conference on Transportation and Economic Development 2006, Little Rock, Arkansas, March 29, 2006.
Turning Up Bones: Archaeological Issues in Retail Real Estate Development, International Council of Shopping Centers Law Conference, Roundtable Discussion, Phoenix, Arizona, October 29, 2005.
Tax Increment Financing Update, Arkansas Governor's Conference on Waterborne Transportation, Little Rock, Arkansas, September 29, 2005.