Mark S. Feluren, partner at Genovese Joblove & Battista, P.A. (GJB), chose his future career path fairly late in the game. He began his postgraduate career working as an accountant for the firm currently known as KPMG before turning his sights to becoming an attorney. “There were very few lawyers in my family to emulate,” noted Feluren, “but with a strong academic and practical background in accounting, I started to consider tax law as a possibility. Although it didn’t quite work out that way, I still deal with financial issues on a day-to-day basis.”
“I was fortunate to begin my practice at a national firm that provided on-the-job education working side-by-side with the firm’s managing partner, Richard Savitt. Together, we worked on transactions of all types across the United States,” said Feluren. “He taught me the basics and I learned from the ground up how important it was to be thoughtful about the task at hand and to produce a quality product. I was also exposed to both lending and bankruptcy law and continually use and refine the skills I acquired early in my career.”
AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, Feluren’s practice today encompasses the areas of corporate law and business transactions. Specifically, his practice includes mergers and acquisitions of public corporations, private companies and joint ventures or partnerships, commercial leasing matters, the preparation of agreements and the documentation of complex transactions, employment matters, director and officer indemnification and liability issues, and financial disputes.
Feluren takes a positive approach to deals and has been successful in applying unique solutions to problems or issues that could otherwise derail a transaction. “You would be surprised at the affect one individual can have on an otherwise smooth transaction – to the point that a deal can be abandoned by the parties simply out of frustration,” explained Feluren. “I never allow our firm to become an issue in a transaction and work very hard to push through difficult relationships. As a result, we have been very successful in advancing transactions through some challenging hurdles.”
He acknowledged that building strong relationships is at the core of his practice. “The nature of my practice exposes me to a wide variety of professionals and business people from all types of industries,” said Feluren. “Balancing the sometimes contentious relationships that develop with the client’s goal is challenging, but it is my job to ensure that I do not further a disagreement between parties. I find it is sometimes helpful to do less talking and more listening to better understand what the other side has in mind and to develop a strategy that benefits our client.”
Looking toward the future of his practice area, Feluren anticipates a great decade for transactions and corporate lawyers. He expects his transactional practice to continue to grow in the coming year as confidence in the economy becomes stronger and traditional financing sources become more readily available.
Recognized for his reputation in this practice area, Feluren has been named on multiple occasions as one of the Best of the Bar by the South Florida Business Journal, as a Top Lawyer by the South Florida Legal Guide and as one of the Legal Elite by Florida Trend Magazine. He is a member of the business law section in both The Florida Bar and the American Bar Associations. Additionally, he is a Florida Supreme Court certified circuit and county court mediator focusing on contract, business, shareholder and acquisition disputes.
Despite the constraints imposed by his career, Feluren devotes as much time as possible to his family and enjoys being in the great outdoors. “Like most office dwellers, I enjoy being outdoors for almost any reason and try to spend a fair amount of time on the water. I also support some environmental issues and a number of charities.”
