Lodie V. Biggs helps companies that are either moving into or expanding within Shelby County and the surrounding areas receive favorable property tax treatment (PILOTs) and other economic incentives for their investments in the community. Mr. Biggs has handled more than 50 of these incentive packages for clients from every part of the globe, including Fortune 500 and Fortune 50 companies. Mr. Biggs has also played a key role in the incentive packages for start-ups in the medical device, bio life science, bio diesel and bio energy industries, overseeing every aspect of the deals from initial consultation to final structure and execution. He has also represented local governments in the shaping and forming of their incentive packages, which gives him a unique perspective on the incentive and PILOT process that serves his clients well.
In addition to his economic development work, Mr. Biggs works in the areas of real estate and tax law. His real estate practice encompasses most areas of commercial real estate including sales and purchases, leasing transactions, zoning and land use law. He also represents title companies in the defense of claims.
Mr. Biggs' tax practice is tied closely to his incentive work and generally concerns ad valorem tax incentives, and state and local tax incentives, credits and grants. He represents clients in ad valorem tax controversies as well, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court.
Mr. Biggs also maintains an active practice with local and national banks, helping them with lending, loan workouts and debt restructuring matters.
Mr. Biggs' clients represent a wide range of industries including: crane and rigging; paper and stationary; athletics apparel; plastic bottle manufacturing; trucking and distribution; high-end consumer cookware and kitchen supply; box and pallet manufacturing; health care providers and health insurance companies; international light bulb and light fixtures manufacturing; magazine and comic distributors; insulation and related building supply manufacturers; and others.
Economic Development
- Represented global orthopedic medical device company in multiple PILOT and real estate transactions totaling more than $60 million.
- Oversaw more than $57 million in multiple real estate transactions and PILOT incentive deals for Tennessee steel manufacturing company.
- Spearheaded start-to-finish incentive and real estate project in Memphis, Tennessee for a specialty pharmaceutical drug manufacturing company's 120,000 square feet facility.
- Guided Japan-based global logistics company in their regional headquarters move to Memphis, Tennessee.
- Developed and executed incentive program for Singapore-based electronics manufacturer in the creation of the largest laptop repair facility in the world.
Real Estate and Banking Transactions
- Oversaw and managed day-to-day logistics in the acquisition of 27 separate sites for a major regional retailer.
- Handled numerous foreclosures and workouts on condo developments and apartment complexes.
- Assisted national bank in $12 million foreclosure on property in DeSoto County, Mississippi.
- Closed $45 million line of credit to municipal airport authority for national bank.
- Speaker – "What To Do After the Signature - How to Maximize the Economic Incentives So That Companies Take Full Advantage of the Incentive Package," Tennessee Economic Development Council's Fall Conference, October 2010
- Speaker – "Recent Changes in Economic Development Incentives," Annual Tennessee Economic Development Council Conference, Spring 2010
- Speaker – "Recent Changes in Economic Development Incentives," Regional Tennessee Economic Development Council Meeting, Fall 2009
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Real Estate Law, 2011 and 2012
- Named a Mid-South Rising Star, 2010 and 2011
- Member – Memphis Chamber Economic Development Committee
- Member – Tennessee Economic Development Council
- Member – American, Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations
- Member – Board of Directors, Memphis Regional Chamber
- Tennessee, 1999
- U.S. Tax Court
- University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1999
- Notes Editor – Virginia Law Review, 1998 – 1999
- University of Memphis, B.B.A., 1994, summa cum laude