Frank D. Hill

Of Counsel

Bio Menu
  • Overview
  • Experience
  • Honors & Involvement
Bio overview

Frank Hill is a veteran attorney with substantial experience and expertise in all aspects of business transactions and real estate law, including acquisitions, sales, exchanges and other dispositions, construction and commercial development, federal income tax planning, state and local taxation and government business incentives.

His practice also includes extensive representation of a variety of tax-exempt organizations, including colleges and universities and private foundations.

His achievements have earned him recognition in Who’s Who in Real Estate, Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America (corporate law; economic development law; land use and zoning law; mergers and acquisitions law; real estate law) and Oklahoma Super Lawyers, which named him to its list of “Top 10 Oklahoma Lawyers” in 2008 and “Top 50 Oklahoma Lawyers” for eight consecutive years. He was also named “Oklahoma City Best Lawyers Real Estate Lawyer of the Year” for 2010, an honor only given to a single lawyer in each legal practice specialty in each community.

Frank is also a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, the nation’s premier organization of real estate attorneys.

Active in the professional community, Frank is a frequent lecturer at workshops and seminars sponsored by the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, and the Oklahoma Bar Association. As a community leader, his contributions include serving on the boards of numerous civic and charitable organizations, most notably as past chairman of the board of trustees of both the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation. He also played significant roles in the establishment of the National Memorial and Museum and in the construction of the Museum of Art. In 2015, Frank was presented with the prestigious Dean A. McGee Award by Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc. for his lifetime of contributions dedicated to helping build downtown Oklahoma City’s cultural and economic foundations.

Following law school, Frank served as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

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Experience, Honors, & Awards

Representative Experience

  • Representation of commercial real estate developers, including income tax planning and formation of entities; site acquisition; land use planning; architectural, engineering and construction contracts; development, construction and permanent financing; evaluation and implementation of state and local tax and economic development incentives, including tax-exempt financing districts; and negotiation and preparation of all contracts and other documents. Specific examples include representation of the owner in development of a major mixed-use commercial project, a major university in the development of its research campus, and a national firm in the development of a world-class aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul technology center.
  • Representation of clients in acquisitions and dispositions of commercial real property, including office buildings, shopping centers, apartment complexes, hotels, resorts and industrial properties. Specific examples include representation of the buyer of the largest industrial property in Oklahoma, the buyer of downtown property acquired for redevelopment, and the buyer of multiple shopping centers acquired for development and disposition.
  • Representation of landlords and tenants in all aspects of commercial leasing transactions, including ground leases, build-to-suit leases, and multi-tenant office, retail or shopping center, and industrial leases. Specific examples include representation of a national firm in negotiation of a long-term lease of a headquarters office building to be constructed by a real estate developer, and a major independent public energy company in all of its commercial leasing activity.
  • Representation of buyers in commercial real estate financing transactions. Specific examples include representation of borrowers in a variety of lending transactions, including taxable and tax-exempt bond financing through utilization of public trusts, construction lending and long-term financing.
  • Representation of a variety of tax-exempt entities, including advice with respect to compliance with federal income tax laws and all matters pertaining to governance, endowments and charitable purposes. Specific examples include representation of a private foundation that supports a major public university in a variety of transactions, including acquisition of a new campus from a public company, and federal income tax audit.
  • Representation of the National Basketball Association in its contract negotiations with the New Orleans Hornets, City of Oklahoma City and representatives of private business to relocate the Hornets to the Ford Center in Oklahoma City in 2005 and 2006.
  • Representation of the Oklahoma City investor group that purchased and currently operates the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder.
  • Representation of an independent public energy company in construction and development of its world headquarters in Oklahoma City.
  • Representation of an Oklahoma real estate developer in its acquisition and development of the former Lake Texoma State Park.
  • Representation of a variety of owners and real estate developers in the negotiation of agreements with Oklahoma cities and counties to establish tax increment finance (TIF) districts.

 

Honors and Awards

  • Elected Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers
  • Listed in the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (corporate law; economic development law; land use and zoning law; mergers and acquisitions law; real estate law)
  • Named “Oklahoma City Real Estate Lawyer of the Year” for 2010 by The Best Lawyers in America
  • Listed in Oklahoma Super Lawyers
  • Named to Oklahoma Super Lawyers‘ list of “Top 50 Oklahoma Lawyers”
  • Named to Who’s Who in Real Estate
  • Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings
  • Honored with the Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc.’s Dean A. McGee Award, recognizing a lifetime of contributions dedicated to helping build Oklahoma City’s cultural and economic foundations (2015)
  • Honored with the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Outstanding Service to the Community Award (2007)
  • Honored with The Journal Record’s Leadership in Law Award, recognizing legal professionals for their professional and civic contributions to the state (2006)

Professional Organizations and Memberships

  • American College of Real Estate Lawyers (Fellow)
  • Oklahoma County Bar Association
  • Oklahoma Bar Association
  • State Bar of Texas
  • American Bar Association
  • Oklahoma Bar Foundation (Benefactor Fellow and Former Trustee)
  • Phi Delta Phi

Civic Involvement and Leadership

  • Oklahoma City Museum of Art (Trustee and Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees)
  • Central Oklahoma Humane Society (Chairman of the Board of Directors)
  • Bizzell Library Society of the University of Oklahoma (Director)
  • Oklahoma Zoological Society (Director)
  • Casady School (Former Trustee, 2003—2013)
  • Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation (Former Trustee and Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees)
  • Last Frontier Council of Boy Scouts of America (Former Director)
  • Episcopal Retirement Community, Inc. (Former Trustee)
  • Bone & Joint Hospital (Former Trustee)

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Admissions

  • Texas
  • Oklahoma
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. Tax Court
  • U.S. Court of Claims
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Education

  • LL.M. (Taxation), The George Washington University
  • LL.B., cum laude, University of Texas at Austin
  • B.B.A. (Accounting), University of Oklahoma
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In The News

Graphic featuring a blue background blended with Leadership Square exterior photo and the Super Lawyers 2022 logo
Best Lawyers names 128 McAfee & Taft lawyers to 2023 lists
McAfee & Taft honored as top-ranked firm by Chambers USA 2022
Super Lawyers 2021
Best Lawyers 2022

McAfee & Taft honored as top-ranked firm by Chambers USA 2021, 33 attorneys singled out for individual honors

Oklahoma Super Lawyers honors 93 McAfee & Taft attorneys in 2020 edition

Chambers USA 2020 honors McAfee & Taft as top-ranked firm, 32 attorneys singled out for individual honors

Oklahoma Super Lawyers honors 101 McAfee & Taft attorneys in 2019 edition

Chambers USA 2019 honors McAfee & Taft as top‑ranked firm

Oklahoma Super Lawyers honors 113 McAfee & Taft attorneys in 2018 edition

The Best Lawyers in America names 107 McAfee & Taft attorneys to 2019 edition

Chambers USA 2018 honors McAfee & Taft as top-ranked firm, 35 attorneys singled out for individual honors

The Best Lawyers in America names 102 McAfee & Taft attorneys to 2018 edition

Redeveloped for residential use, former school gets first tenant

The Journal Record |

Chambers USA 2017 honors McAfee & Taft as top-ranked firm, 39 McAfee & Taft attorneys as leading lawyers for business

International settlement reached in return, display of Pissarro painting

Chambers USA 2016 honors McAfee & Taft as top-ranked firm, 41 firm attorneys as leading lawyers

Frank Hill honored by Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc. with prestigious Dean A. McGee Award

Firm congratulates civic leader Carl Edwards, Dean A. McGee Award honoree

Community leader Frank D. Hill named king of the 65th Beaux Arts Ball

The Oklahoman |

Frank Hill and Elizabeth Dalton Named 2010 Oklahoma City ‘Lawyers of the Year’

Oklahoma Bar Association Honors John Hermes and Frank Hill for Outstanding Service

Seven McAfee & Taft attorneys named 2006 Leadership in Law Honorees

The Journal Record |