Overview

Brian C. Behrens is a principal and managing partner at Carmody MacDonald. He concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate and business law, mergers and acquisitions, growth and venture companies, and corporate finance. Brian provides invaluable corporate counseling for large and small established companies as well as emerging growth companies.

His focus areas include manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, transportation, construction, software and technology development, and lending, among others. Brian’s practice includes advising corporations, boards of directors, officers, and shareholders on a wide variety of matters, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and financing transactions.

As a native of St. Louis, Brian is passionate about his community. He generously volunteers his time with not-for-profit organizations to help bring new investments into the community and to help entrepreneurs and start-up organizations find the resources they need to be successful. During law school, he was an intern for the Honorable William H. Crandall, Jr., Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

Education

Saint Louis University, J.D., cum laude, 1995; Staff Member, Saint Louis University Public Law Review

Saint Louis University, M.B.A., 1995

University of Missouri-Columbia, B.S.B.A., cum laude, 1991

Community Involvement
  • Association for Corporate Growth, 2003-present
  • Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center
    • Member, Board of Governors, 2014-present
    • President, Board of Governors, 2018-2020
    • President, Development Board, 2011-2013
    • Member, Development Board, 2002-2010
  • Associated General Contractors of America Consensus DOCS Contract Content Advisory Council, 2008-2020
  • Missouri Venture Forum, 1997-2020
  • Metro East Small Business Development Center’s Start-up Challenge, Mentor, 2017
  • St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association (RCGA), Member, Gateway Alliance Committee, 2000-2002
Awards
  • Best Lawyers – The Best Lawyers in America
    • Business Organizations (2021-present)
    • Corporate Law (2016-present)
    • Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2019-present)
  • Super Lawyers
    • Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers (2016-present)
    • Top 50: St. Louis Super Lawyers (2019)
    • Missouri & Kansas Rising Stars (2009)
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly
    • POWER List – Top Missouri M&A Attorneys (2023)
    • Up and Coming Lawyer (2009)
  • St. Louis Small Business Monthly
    • Most Admired Business Leaders (2018)
    • Best M&A Providers (2016, 2017)
    • Top 100 St. Louisans You Should Know to Succeed in Business (2011)
    • Top Small Business Lawyer (2010, 2014)
  • AV-Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
Publications & Presentations
  • “The Basics of Buying and Selling a Business,” Panelist, Business Owners Speaker Series, November 2, 2022.
  • “HR Issues Facing Small Businesses Today,” Moderator, Carmody MacDonald “Attorneys on Tap” Open House and Panel Discussion, May 19, 2022.
  • “Can Your Client’s Website Put its Business at Risk?” Missouri Lawyers Weekly, Volume 32, No. 19, p. 8, May 7, 2018.
  • “Liability and Risk Management for Directors and Officers,” Financial Executives Networking Group, October 2010.
  • “Successful Business Development Skills and Client Relations,” Senniger Powers LLP, July 2009.
  • “Negotiating and Structuring Executive Employment Arrangements,” Financial Executives Networking Group, January 2009.
  • “Planning, Financing and Operating a Successful Start-Up Entity,” Saint Louis University School of Business.
  • “Point- Counterpoint: LLCs vs. Corporations for Start-Up Companies,” and “Can My Trademark Be Registered?” Center for Emerging Technologies.
  • “Structuring Agreements Among Founders: Setting the Table for Success,” and “Negotiating a Term Sheet,” Need to Know Breakfast Forum Series.
  • “Practical Legal Aspects of Software Reverse Engineering,” co-author, 41 Communications of the ACM 2 1998.
  • “Legal Aspects-Software Reverse Engineering and Copyright: Past, Present and Future,” co-author, 31 The John Marshall Law Review, 1, Fall (made the National Law Journal’s “Worth Reading” column) 1997.
  • “18 U.S.C. § 1341 and § 1346: Deciphering the Confusing Letters of the Mail Fraud Statute,” 13 St. Louis U. Pub. L. Rev. 489 (1993).