Member Highlight – Agent: Mark Bond

Mark Bond, a partner in the Gulfport office of Balch & Bingham LLP, was well prepared for the
practice of real estate law by his work in the banking industry with an emphasis in lending prior
to law school. He graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2011 and
joined Balch shortly thereafter. His path toward a focus in real estate developed from assisting a
client with a large-scale land acquisition in rural Mississippi early in his career. The experience
gained from that project has led to a wide variety of commercial and industrial projects,
including financing and leasing. Over the last few years, Mark has worked with a team at Balch
on closing over 100 water and wastewater utility systems, consisting of over 160 parcels of real
property. Mark also represents several developers of renewable energy projects on real estate and
title insurance matters throughout the state.

As a young lawyer, Mark says he learned the following lessons about the real estate business:
“(i) no two real estate projects are alike, expect the unexpected; and (ii) setting expectations early
and maintaining open channels of communication with clients, lenders, surveyors and opposing
counsel from due diligence to closing is critical to the success of any transaction.” His advice for
someone new to the practice would be to “find a firm where you can work daily with other
attorneys with years of experience and absorb that knowledge. Also, take an interest in your
clients and their projects and build meaningful relationship. Be dependable and strive to always
provide high quality legal services.”

Mark is married to Morgan Fore Bond, an exceptional fifth-grade teacher in the Gulfport School
District, and they live in Gulfport with their Scottish terrier, Archie. Away from work, they enjoy
traveling and finding new restaurants.