Michael J. Pugh

Michael J. Pugh is a member and co-founder of Pugh Hagan Prahm PLC in Coralville, Iowa. With more than 30 years of experience, he advises clients on real estate, land use, corporate, and estate planning matters. His work includes complex development projects, common interest communities, real estate tax assessments, and transactions involving the acquisition, financing, development, and sale of real estate assets.

Pugh earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and a Juris Doctor with honors from Indiana University. His legal education supports a practice that requires careful analysis of property rights, financing structures, land-use requirements, and long-term planning considerations. He has also served as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Iowa College of Business, contributing practical legal insight to business education.

His experience includes representing developers, lenders, and borrowers in finance transactions across the United States. Pugh has handled matters involving commercial and residential development, project financing, property acquisitions and dispositions, and the planning and operation of common interest communities. Earlier in his career, he worked at two Iowa City law firms and at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago, providing a broad foundation for transactional and advisory work.

Michael J. Pugh has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for real estate law and land use and zoning law since 2011, including multiple Lawyer of the Year honors for the eastern Iowa market. He has also received an AV peer-review rating and been selected for the Corridor Leaders 250. Through professional and civic leadership, he brings practical judgment, community knowledge, and disciplined transaction management to clients facing complex legal and business decisions.

Law Office Affiliations

• Member, Pugh Hagan Prahm
• Member, Iowa State Bar Association, Business Law, Real Estate, Title Law, Probate and Trust Law Section
• Member, Johnson County Bar Association
• Member, American Bar Association, Business Law, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section
• Member, Urban Land Institute
• Member, Community Associations Institute
• Former Adjunct Lecturer, University of Iowa College of Business

Licensed State

• Iowa

Education

• Indiana University
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• University of Iowa
  Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Awards & Badges