His experience includes estate planning, corporate law, business formation, sales and acquisitions, contract negotiations, real estate, business transactions and a wide range of agriculture and agribusiness matters.

McCastlain’s passion for agriculture has led to his experience with various links of our food production chain. One important link includes finding a more efficient way to direct surplus nutritious food to those in need.

His specific areas of experience and recent work include:

• Agriculture and recreational real estate sales and financings for large tracts and institutional investors.
• Agriculture leases for large tracts and professionally managed properties.
• Hunting and recreational leases for large tracts and professionally managed properties.
• Timber contracts.
• Commercial real estate acquisitions and financings for institutional investors.
• Real estate sales combined with charitable trusts for estate tax planning.
• Mineral lease negotiations and enforcement.
• Agriculture business planning for federal farm program compliance.
• Business planning for special purpose and quasi-public agribusiness entities.
• Business and tax planning for closely held businesses.
• Buying and selling closely held businesses with earnout and non-compete agreements, intellectual property transfers and post-closing accountings.
• Corporate counsel for business clients.
• Estate and trust planning and administration.

Cal received his BSBA with a major in accounting from Henderson State University, followed by his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law. Prior to entering private practice, Cal served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, assigned to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals in Washington D.C. During his Army service, Cal completed a Master’s Degree in Tax Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He retired as a Colonel in the Arkansas Army National Guard Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

Cal has been named to The Best Lawyers in America^© in the categories of Business Organizations (since 2016), Corporate Law (since 2016) and Tax Law (since 2018). He is also listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers in the areas of business/corporate law (since 2019).

Cal shares his unique experience with national and industry organizations. From 2011-2016, he served as a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Additionally, Cal is a former longstanding board member and past president of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas, as well as a former director of the Arkansas Food Bank.

In the professional community, he is a member of the American, Arkansas and Pulaski County Bar Associations; the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants; and was a member of the USDA Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology from 2000-2002.

• National Business Institute (NBI) Farm Business Law (May 2016, June 2017, September 2018 and May 2019).
• Contributing author to Bloomberg BNA Pass-Through Entity Navigator.
• Featured in DTN Farm Business: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2018/11/23/gifting-strategies-cause-higher-tax