ABOUT
Allen Sparkman practices law in Denver and Houston as a partner of Sparkman + Foote LLP. Mr. Sparkman’s practice includes the areas of business transactions, securities, tax, and professional responsibility. Mr. Sparkman’s work includes tax-planning and the preparation of securities disclosure documents for start-up companies in a variety of fields, including domestic and offshore oil and gas exploration, foreign mining operations, real estate, and comic book certification. Mr. Sparkman also regularly prepares LLC and partnership documents, and represents buyers and sellers of businesses, including preparing or reviewing all necessary legal documents. Mr. Sparkman currently serves as outside general counsel to a publically traded storage facility company, a world-wide oil field services company, and a private offshore drilling company. Mr. Sparkman began practicing law in Dallas, Texas in 1973 and moved to Denver in 1984. In 2008, an opportunity presented itself that resulted in Mr. Sparkman opening an office of his firm in Houston, Texas, where he now spends a substantial portion of his time. Mr. Sparkman earned an A. B. degree in American History from Princeton University in 1968. Mr. Sparkman received a J. D. degree with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1973. While in law school, Mr. Sparkman was a Vice-Chancellor, member of the law review, and served as a teaching assistant in legal research and writing and appellate advocacy and brief writing. In 2015, Mr. Sparkman received a Certificate in Theology and Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. Mr. Sparkman is listed in THE BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA® for both Colorado and Texas and speaks regularly at continuing legal education seminars in Colorado, Texas, and nationally on entity selection, fiduciary duties and governance, mergers and conversion, veil piercing, ethics, series LLCs, and tax planning. Mr. Sparkman has presented more than 100 papers at continuing education programs for the American Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education in Colorado, the State Bar of Texas, the University of Texas School of Law, the Professional Education Broadcast Network, the Practicing Law Institute, the National Business Institute, and other continuing education providers.
He is the author of numerous articles on choice of business entity and series LLCs. Mr. Sparkman’s published articles include “Will Your Veil be Pierced? How Strong is Your Entity’s Liability Shield?—Piercing the Veil, Alter Ego, and Other Bases for Holding an Owner Liable for Debts of an Entity,” (forthcoming Hastings Business Law Journal), With Herrick K. Lidstone, Jr., “Pick Your Partner Versus the United States Bankruptcy Code”, (forthcoming Texas Journal of Business Law), “Through the Looking Glass: Series LLCs in 2015”,(forthcoming Business & Bankruptcy Law Journal), “Series LLCs”, 53 The REPTL Reporter No. 2 (Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section, State Bar of Texas, February, 2015), “The Rescission Doctrine: Everything Old is New Again,” 4 Am. U. Bus. L. Rev. 183 (2015), “Fifth Circuit Misses Opportunity to Bring Clarity to Series LLC Questions”, Business Law Today (April 2014), “Series LLCs in Interstate Commerce” and “Tax Aspects of Series LLCs,” Business Law Today (February 2013), and “The Series LCC: A New Planning Tool” by Adrienne Randle Bond and Allen Sparkman, 45 Texas Journal of Business Law (Fall 2012). Mr. Sparkman is a contributing author to William Schmidt “Preserving Your Wealth: A Guide to Colorado Probate & Estate Planning” (2012), Practitioner’s Guide to Colorado Business Organizations (Colorado Bar Association, Allen E. F. Rozansky and E. Lee Reichert, Managing Editors), and Guide for Colorado Nonprofit Organizations (Colorado Bar Association, Karen E. Leaffer, Managing Editor).
Pursuant to a contract with CLE in Colorado, Inc., Mr. Sparkman has written, with Herrick K. Lidstone, Jr., a book published in March 2015 entitled Limited Liability Companies and Partnerships in Colorado.
Mr. Sparkman has served several times as an expert witness in Colorado, Texas, and California in cases involving duties of directors, director deadlock, duties of managers, duties of partners, construction of operating agreements, construction of partnership agreements, construction of contracts, veil piercing, and attorney malpractice. Mr. Sparkman has been qualified as an expert witness in the district court for Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Sparkman is a member of the American, Colorado, and Houston Bar Associations, the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Center for Legal Ethics, the Center for Professional Responsibility, and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. For the American Bar Association, Mr. Sparkman is an active member of the Business Law Section and its Committees on Corporate Governance ; LLCs, Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations (co-chair, task force on model Series LLC operating agreement, chair, governance subcommittee); Mergers and Acquisitions; Middle Market and Small Business (chair, governance subcommittee); Nonprofit Organizations; and Professional Responsibility (chair, subcommittee on state and local liaisons). He is also a member of the American Bar Association Tax Law Section and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section.
Mr. Sparkman is a member of the Drafting Committee on Series of Unincorporated Business Entities of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws as an ABA Section Advisor, ABA Business Law Section.
Mr. Sparkman is a past chair of the Business Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association. Mr. Sparkman is an active member of the Ethics Committee of the Colorado Bar Association, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee for Business and Commercial Laws, and the Legislative Drafting Committee of the Business Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association. Mr. Sparkman was the Colorado reporter for State Limited Partnership Laws and State Limited Liability Company Laws while those were published by Aspen Law & Business.
Mr. Sparkman served on active duty as an officer in the United States Army from January, 1969 through April, 1971.
Degrees: Juris Doctor with high honors, University of Texas; A.B. with honors, Princeton University
Memberships: American Bar Association; Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers; Center for Professional Responsibility; Colorado Bar Association; State Bar of Texas; Houston Bar Association; Texas Center for Legal Ethics.
