Overview
Marcos “Mark” Tarango is a business-oriented and practical-minded attorney, who is energetic, outgoing, and combines common sense with his deep knowledge of the law to serve his clients’ transactions needs.
As head of DTO Law’s transactions team, Mark specializes in complex commercial, real estate, and financial transactions. With nearly 30 years of in-house and AmLaw 100 law firm experience, Mark delivers practical business-minded legal advice to his clients.
Mark represents lenders, manufacturers, technology companies, leasing companies, real estate developers, and start-ups in various types of transactions, including:
- Lending: hundreds of real estate finance, personal property and inventory finance, syndicated and participated loans (lender-side representation);
- Real Estate: commercial real estate leasing (landlord-side and tenant-side representation), real estate acquisition/dispositions, condominium and fractional ownership law, timeshare and hotel development;
- Equipment Lease and Finance;
- Loan Workouts and Loan Restructuring; and
- Complex Commercial Transactions: on-shore and off-shore outsourcing transactions, SAAS agreements, consulting agreements, multi-million business process outsourcing transactions and technology licensing agreements.
Prior to co-founding DTO Law, Mark spent 8 years at AmLaw firms and 14 years as corporate counsel. While in-house, he advised senior management on legal and business matters on a day-to-day basis and oversaw a team of attorneys, paralegals, and staff supporting over $20 billion in commercial contracts. Immediately before co-founding DTO, Mark also served as divisional General Counsel overseeing a $2 billion finance division.
Mark prides himself on being a thought leader in legal efficiencies and leveraging technology, leveraging that mentality to serve his clients. Among his notable accomplishments, while in-house, Mark led a company-wide legal automation and realignment project which resulted in $1,000,000 annual cost savings.
Mark proudly helped establish a diverse law firm legal-spend initiative while in-house, and he has served as an Adjunct Professor at UCLA Law School, where he co-developed the UCLA Corporate In-House Clinic. The Corporate In-House Clinic provides students with live-client clinical work, focusing on private and public corporate experiences.
Best Lawyers in America, “Best Lawyer,” Commercial Transactions / UCC Law (2024)
Los Angeles Business Journal, “Leaders in Law” (2020)
Super Lawyers, “Super Lawyer” (2022-2023)
NAMWOLF, Member and Co-Chair Real Estate Committee
Hispanic National Bar Association, Member
American Resort Development Association, Trustee (2023)
Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Seattle City Lead (2023-Present), Fellow (2020)
Adjunct Professor, UCLA School of Law, 2014 – 2021, co-developed and co-taught The Corporate Practice Clinic
Volunteer Member, Los Angeles Team Mentoring
Panelist, ACC, Contracts Hack-A-Thon, 2014
Panelist, NAMWOLF, UCC Secured Lending, 2015
Experience
Represented a lender in closing a $250MM multi-state, multi-property cross collateralized commercial real estate revolving credit facility.
Represent a lender participant in a $3.6B global floorplan and $800MM real estate secured syndicated credit facility.
Represented a tenant as sublandlord in the sublease of 130,000+/sq.ft. headquarter commercial office space that included technology rooms and rooftop equipment spaces.
Represent lender in $100MM loan default and restructuring.
Represent a multi-national electric vehicle company in securing its initial dealer licenses and physical dealer location leases in its two initial U.S. markets.
Credentials
UCLA School of Law, J.D.
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., Political Science, with honors
Sanchez & Amador, LLP, 2017-2019
Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, 2003-2017
Morrison & Foerster LLP, 2000-2003
Baker & Hostetler LLP, 1997–2000
Admitted in California, Arizona, and Washington State
