Kimberly Lowe

Attorney, CFO, COO

For nearly 20 years Kim Lowe has lawyered from the trenches with experience and her comprehensive knowledge and understanding of how both for-profit and nonprofit enterprises operate. She guides entrepreneurs, executive management teams, boards of directors, multigenerational families, shareholders and investors through all aspects of the business life cycle from formation to operation to exit.


Kim extends her expertise to all sectors of business. She works with social ventures, private and public companies, limited liability companies and partnerships, nonprofit organizations and cooperatives. She masterfully navigates her clients through general business matters, corporate governance, debt and equity financing, purchase and sales, SEC and IRS compliance, business strategy joint ventures and complex reorganizations.


Kim brings her extensive set of entity and contract tools to help business owners and families navigate through the succession of a business from one or more owner/operators to the next set of owners, with special attention to professional service businesses that may or may not be outright salable. 


In the nonprofit sector, Kim has worked with all types of organizations ranging from public charities to trade associations and has counseled them through every intricacy of the nonprofit business life cycle. 


In addition to legal expertise, Kim brings her deep leadership experience to the table for all her clients regardless of sector, purpose or goals.

Education:

  • Boston College Law School
  • University of Detroit, Honors B.A. in English and Economics, summa cum laude

Bar Admissions:

  • Minnesota, 1998

Honors:

  • Minnesota State Bar Association North Star Lawyer, 2012-2017
  • Minnesota Business Magazine, The (REAL) Power 50 Award, 2014
  • Minnesota Lawyer, Attorney of the Year, 2011 and 2014 and circle of excellence
  • BestPrep, Volunteer of the Year Award, 2006
  • Minnesota Justice Foundation, Outstanding Service Award, 2006

Drafting Committees: Kim works both locally and nationally on many law drafting initiatives, including:

  • Minnesota's Business Corporation Act (302A)
  • Minnesota's Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (322C)
  • Minnesota's Nonprofit Corporation Act (317A)
  • Minnesota Public Benefit Corporation Act (304A)
  • ABA's Model Nonprofit Corporation Act
  • ULC Management of Funds Raised through Crowdfunding Efforts

Community:

  • Board of Directors - BestPrep (2008-2013)
  • BestPrep's Minnesota Business Venture Advisory Committee and Curriculum Development Board
  • Board of Directors - YWCA of Minneapolis (2005-2010)
  • Corporate Secretary - Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (2005-2015)
  • Board of Directors - Growth and Justice (2006-Present), Board Chair (2016-Present)
  • Board of Directors -LegalCORPS
  • Girl Scouts River Valleys Women of Distinction 2014 Steering Committee member, Co-Chair Sponsorship Committee

Professional Activities:

        Uniform Law Commission

  • Minnesota Appointed Commissioner (2016-Present)
  • ULC Drafting Committee on Management of Funds Raised through Crowdfunding Efforts

        Hennepin County Bar Association

  • Immediate Past President (2016-2017)
  • President (2015-2016)
  • President-Elect (2014-2015)
  • Treasurer (2013-2014)
  • Finance and Planning Committee Chair (2013-2014)
  • Secretary (2012-2013)
  • Board of Directors (2011-2017)
  • Finance and Planning Committee Member (2009-2016)
  • Finance and Planning Committee Bylaws Subcommittee Chair (2011-2012)
  • Board of Directors, Hennepin County Bar Foundation (2012-2016)

         Minnesota State Bar Association

  • Business Law Section Council, Executive Committee Member
  • Nonprofit Corporations, Committee Member
  • Business/Professional Corporations, Committee Member
  • Partnerships/Limited Liability Companies, Committee Member
  • Beneficial Corporation Drafting Committee (2012-Present), Chair
  • Minnesota State Bar Association's Legal Education Task Force Member, (2014-2016)
  • Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly Member, (2013-Present)
  • Member Investment Committee (2018-Present)

        American Bar Association, Business Law Section

  • Member, Nonprofit Organizations Committee
  • Member, Corporate Governance Committee
  • Co-Chair, Social Entrepreneurship and Social Benefit Entities
  • Co-Chair, Governance Nonprofit Organization
  • The Business Lawyer, Editorial Board Member (2018-Present)
  • Business Law Today, Content Director (2018-Present)
  • Business Law Section, Pro Bono Committee, Chair (2015-2018)        

        American Bar Association

  • ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, Member of (2017 – present), Business Law Section Liaison (2014 – 2017)

        National Council of Farmers Cooperative

  • Legal Tax and Accounting
  • Vice Chair- Securities Committee (2010-2016)

Educator:

  • University of St. Thomas School of Law – Adjunct Professor, Business Associations (2018)

  • Hamline University School of Business - Adjunct Professor - Master in Nonprofit Management Program, Law of Nonprofit Organizations

  • Hamline University School of Law - Adjunct Professor - Small Business and Non-Profit Clinic; Law of Nonprofit Organizations (2004 – 2016)

  • College of St. Catherine - Adjunct Professor - Business Law

Publications & Presentations

  • The 2019 New Lawyer Experience: Selecting and Forming Corporate Entities Breakout Session, 1/17/2019
  • Social Enterprise Executive Education Session, Legal Considerations of Pursuing a Social Enterprise Model, 11/27/2018
  • Twin Cities Startup Week at Impact Hub: Social Enterprise Structuring 10/11/2018
  • ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting 2018 Austin, TX: What's the Latest with Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants, and How Can We Help? 09/14/2018
  • ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting 2018 Austin, TX: Board Transitions Voluntary and Otherwise 09/14/2018

  • Mitchell Hamline SBE Class Speaker, 06/14/2018

  • Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, 05/21/2018
  • Meet the Expert 2018 James J. Hill Center, 05/21/2018

  • 2018 MN CLE Nonprofit Conference, State Law Update, 3/13/2018

  • Lessons Learned: Bitcoin/ICOs, 02/21/2018

  • ConnectUP! MN: How to Structure Your Social Enterprise for Crowdfunding 02/22/2018

  • The Purchase and Sale of Small Businesses: Employment/Employee-Related Issues in the Sale of Small Businesses, Minnesota CLE, 2/26/2018

  • The New Lawyer Experience, MM CLE, 1/18/2018

  • Nonprofits and Social Enterprises, University of Minnesota, 11/29/2017

  • Off the Record Career Conversation Series, Mitchel Hamline 10/17/2017

  • MN CLE - Significant Changes for Minnesota LLCs: Panel Discussion of Transition Hypotheticals, 10/30/2017

  • Twin Cities Startup Week at Impact Hub: Social Enterprise Structuring and The Future of Nonprofit Fundraising: Developing a Hybrid Business Model, 10/9/2017

  •  University of St. Thomas Non-Profits Talk, 9/7/2017       

  • Faculty Planner and Committee Member, "The Minnesota Closely Held Business Conference: Highlights of the New Minnesota Public Benefit Corporation Act" - Snapshot Presentation; "The New LLC Statute: What Now?" (Moderator), Minnesota CLE, October 21, 2014

  • "The State of Social Enterprise as it Relates to Legal Considerations," Minnesota Business Magazine, October 9, 2014

  • Chair. Faculty & Moderator. "Understanding & Using Minnesota's New Public Benefit Corporation Act," Minnesota CLE, August 28, 2014

  • Presenter. "The Minnesota Public Benefit Corporation Act," Minnesota State Bar Association CLE, July 22. 2014

  • Quoted in "No Single Path." by Sarah Lutman. Twin Cities Business, June 20, 2014

  • Presenter, "The Public Benefit Corporation is Here; Now What Do We Do?" Ramsey County Bar Association CLE, Ramsey County Bar Association Annual Meeting, June 17, 2014

  • Faculty Member & Presenter, "Ancillary Activities," Minnesota CLE, Churches and Other Religious Organizations, June 16, 2014

  • Presenter, "The Public Benefit Corporation is Coming1," Hennepin County Bar Association CLE, Hennepin County Bar

    Association Annual Meeting, May 15, 2014

  • Debate Participant, "Future of Doing Good and How We Should Fund Good Works," bushCONNECT, Regional Leadership

    Conference powered by the Bush Foundation, Guthrie Theater, May 12, 2014

  • Faculty Planner and Presenter, "2014 Business Law Institute: Public Benefit Corporations," outline and presentation, Minnesota CLE and MSBA Business Law Section, May 5, 2014

  • Presenter, "2014 Non-Profit Law Conference: Public Benefit Corporations," outline and presentation, Minnesota CLE and MSBA Business Law Section, March 12, 2014

  • Minnesota Should Enact Public Benefit Corporations, Star Tribune, co-written with Jeffrey Ochs, Founder of Cornerstone Stories, a Minnesota social business, and a board member of Social Enterprise Alliance-Twin Cities, February 7, 2014

  • Nonprofit Revitalization Act Impacts New York Nonprofits and Organizations Registered to Solicit Contributions in the State, ABA Nonprofit Organizations Committee Newsletter, Fourth Quarter 2013, co-written with Matthew Norris, J.D. Candidate, 2014, University of Minnesota Law School

  • Presenter, "Selecting and Forming Corporate Entities," New Lawyer Experience, Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, 2009-2014

  • Presenter, "The Public Benefit Corporation Comes to Minnesota", outline and presentation, William Mitchell College of Law Alumni Series, Webcast Only, December 5, 2013

  • Faculty Planner and Presenter, "The 3rd Annual Minnesota Closely Held Business Conference: Future Legislation: The Coming New Minnesota Public Benefit Corporation (Snapshot Session)" outline and presentation, Minnesota CLE, October 29, 2013

  • Presenter, "Business Law 101: Demystifying the Entity Selection," Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, July 2013

  • Faculty Advisor and Presenter, the Minnesota Closely Held Business Conference, "Capitalizing the Small Business," Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, January 2011-2013

  • Faculty Planner and Presenter, Minnesota CLE and the MSBA Business Law Section, Business Law Institute, 2009-2013

  • Presenter, "How to Keep Tax Exempt Organizations in Compliance: Intermediate Sanctions and Current Case Law and Legislative Updates Impacting Tax-Exempt Organizations," National Business Institute, Teleconference Seminar, December

    2012

  • Presenter, "Structuring Cooperative," National Business Institute, Teleconference Seminar, December 2012

  • Presenter, "Entity Selection for a Small-to-Medium Sized Business: Taxation and S Corporations in Detail," National

    Business Institute, Rebroadcast November 2012

  • Co-Presenter, "VC and Angel Financing in a Challenging Economy; Tax Credits and more," the Collaborative's 26th Annual

    Minnesota Venture & Finance Conference, Minneapolis October 2012

  • Presenter, "Structured Settlement Transfers: Liquidation of Structured Settlements," 2012 Minnesota District Judges Association/ Minnesota District Judges Foundation Annual Fall Conference, Minneapolis, September 2012

  • Presenter, "Advising the Family Business Owner About Succession and Estate Planning Issues: Setting Reasonable Expectations for Family Business Succession," Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, August 2012

  • Chair, Moderator and Presenter, "Concussion in Amateur Sports: Legal Risks and Options for Nonprofit Athletic and Recreational Organizations," American Bar Association/Business Law Section, Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, August

    2012

  • Moderator and Presenter, "Managing & Growing People: Health, Comp., Stock & More," the Collaborative - Innovative Series Panel Discussion, Minneapolis, August 2012

  • Presenter, "LLC or Inc.? Entity Selection for a Small-to-Medium Sized Business: S Corporations in Detail" and "LLC Taxation Considerations," National Business Institute, Minneapolis, May 2012

  • Presenter, "So Your Client is a Small Business Owner: What You Need to Know," The Small Business Conference, Minnesota State Bar Association and MN CLE, November 2011

  • "Governance Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations: Creating a Structure that Allows for Responsible Leadership," Kimberly A. Lowe, Author, Bureau of National Affairs: Corporate Accountability Report, August 2011

  • Presenter, "Tax Exempt Organizations from Start to Finish -- Incorporation Process and Unrelated Business Income Taxation," National Business Institute, Minneapolis, May 2011

  • Presenter, "The Business Cradle to Grave: The ABC's of Limited Liability Company Organization" outline and presentation, Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, November 2010

  • "Minnesota Business Law Deskbook - Corporations and LLCs, 1st Edition," Editor, July 2010

  • “Minnesota Business Law Deskbook - Corporations and LLCs 1st Edition,” Editor, July 2010

  • Presenter, “How to read a Financial Statement,” 2009 Family and Closely Held Business Conference, Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis August 2009

  • Panelist, “Tackling Racism With Sharp Wit Illusion Theater’s Same Difference,” Twin Cities Diversity in practice Minneapolis, November 2008



Most importantly, Kim was voted Best Hair in high school and Kim's dogs, Betty and Daisy, love to hang out with her while she works at Avisen Legal's St. Paul location.