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Find Lawyers in America for Public Finance Law
Practice Area Overview
A public finance law practice involves all aspects of financing activities for entities or projects that can borrow on a tax-exempt basis. These entities or projects consist of a variety of governmental issuers, including states, municipalities, counties, governmental agencies, and economic development agencies; nonprofit borrowers, such as colleges, hospitals, and cultural institutions; and projects, such as student loans, affordable housing, and solid waste disposal, among others. Public finance lawyers represent issuers, underwriters, borrowers, bondholders, trustees, and other parties in connection with the issuance and holding of tax-exempt bonds. The practice includes representation in financing, tax, and general legal matters. A few law firms with public finance practices also specialize in defaults and workouts of tax exempt bonds.
There are several roles that an attorney or law firm can play in public finance, including serving as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriter’s counsel, trustee counsel, and bondholder counsel.
- Bond counsel is typically retained by the issuer and provides a legal opinion that bonds have been validly issued and that the interest thereon is exempt from federal (and perhaps state) taxes, in addition to preparing and advising on the various documents relating to issuance.
- Disclosure counsel is retained by the issuer and provides advice on issuer disclosure obligations and typically prepares the official statement and continuing disclosure agreement.
- Underwriter’s counsel represents the underwriter on the purchase of a new issue of municipal securities. This includes a review of the issuer’s bond resolution and documentation, a review of the accuracy and adequacy of disclosure in the official statement, the preparation of the purchase contract for the sale of the bonds to the underwriter and the official statement, assisting the underwriter in establishing the underwriter’s due diligence, and the delivery of a “10b-5” opinion.
- Trustee counsel may play a small role at issuance, but if a deal becomes distressed, assists the trustee in navigating the complexities of the exercise of rights and remedies and capital recovery on behalf of bondholders.
In addition, bond financings bear on other areas of the law since they involve understanding the financial and operating position of issuers of securities. The issues involved in a bond financing are complex, and it is essential that the public finance attorney or law firm understand and stay up-to-date on the ever-evolving laws and regulations proposed and implemented by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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Pat Alexander practices primarily in the areas of public finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and franchising. Pat has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of public finance, including tax-exempt and taxable debt financing transactions. He serves as bond counsel to various public authorities and other entities, including Nashville Electric Service and the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency.
Michele Allgood has extensive experience in all areas of municipal and public finance in Arkansas including bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, issuer’s counsel, trustee’s counsel, purchaser’s counsel and borrower’s counsel. She represents Arkansas state agencies, municipalities, counties, facility boards and commissions in matters of capital improvement and economic development projects. Michele has experience in taxable, tax exempt, public and private municipa...
Michael J. Andreana practices in the areas of tax-exempt financings, public-private development projects and tax credit transactions. Mike has counseled government entities with respect to the creation and use of Special Tax and Special Assessment Districts to issue debt for public infrastructure improvements and was the principal drafter of Public Act No. 15-57, Connecticut's new TIF financing statute. Mike also represents developers, governmental agencies and other participants in various t...
Michele Arbeeny concentrates her practice on nonprofit, real estate, health care and municipal finance matters. She maintains a successful track record of representing financial institutions and nonprofits in all aspects of secured and unsecured financing, including acquisition, construction, revolving and term loans, as well as tax-exempt and taxable bonds. Michele also represents financial institutions and developers in affordable housing transactions. Michele is the Chair of Windels Marx W...
Katie Baynes, a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Public Finance group, focuses her practice on project finance, infrastructure finance and public finance. She represents government authorities, issuers and underwriters in connection with project financings including stadiums and arenas as well as industrial development revenue bonds; college and university bonds; hospital, health care, and senior living bonds; and other exempt facility bonds. What do you focus on? Project Finance I have been ...
Robert Beach concentrates his practice in the municipal bonds and corporate finance sector, with a particular emphasis on bond financing for school districts. He represents municipal advisors, underwriters and issuers. He was involved in the largest school financing in the history of Arkansas school boards and has assisted over 98 percent of the school districts issue debt. Bob, a partner in the firm, has been named Lawyer of the Year 2017 by The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Little...
Bradley Bingham is a partner in the Government Services and Finance Department of the firm's Indianapolis, Indiana office. He concentrates his practice in the areas of general municipal law, public finance, and economic development. In addition, Bradley routinely works with Indiana cities, towns, and counties on a wide variety of state and federal lobbying issues. Bradley graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics and history from Dartmouth College. He received his law degree magna cum l...
Lee Birchall’s practice focuses on public finance in Alabama, where he serves as bond counsel to cities, counties, utilities, school boards, and various other types of governmental entities that issue tax-exempt and taxable securities. He also represents cities and counties in negotiations with private developers for economic development transactions. In addition to representing public bodies, Lee has experience serving as counsel to underwriters, trustee banks and commercial banks in t...
John B. Bitar has substantial experience in the area of public finance representing issuers, underwriters, and borrowers in taxable and tax-exempt bond financings. He represents banks issuing letters of credit in support of such bonds. Additionally, he has represented banks and business entities in public and private offerings, securities compliance and regulatory matters, and mergers and acquisitions. https://www.windelsmarx.com/people/john-bitar
Warren S. Bloom is Co-Chair of the Public Finance Practice and began his legal career with Kaye Scholer in New York City in the mid-1980s concentrating on the representation of lending institutions in leveraged buyouts and "going private" transactions. Upon his relocation to Florida in late 1988, Warren began to focus his practice on public finance and the representation of creditor entities in such transactions (e.g., indenture trustees, bondholders, bond purchasers and credit enhancers). Si...
Bruce Bonjour is former co-chair of the firm's Financial Transactions & Securitization practice and is the current chair of its Public Finance practice. Bruce has three major areas of focus: structured finance concentrating in the hospitality sector, municipal finance, serving as bond counsel as well as representing underwriters and credit enhancers, and New Markets Tax Credits. Since 1996 when he served as bond counsel for the tax exempt financing of an 800 room Hyatt Hotel located at Mc...
While fully engaged as Managing Partner of Buckley King, Brent Buckley counsels and represents financial institutions, private equity firms, lenders, businesses and executive management on business issues, complex and structured finance, workouts, asset-based lending, corporate internal investigations, and commercial litigation matters. Brent is nationally recognized for excellence in both corporate law and banking and finance litigation. He is named among the prestigious Legal Who's Who as o...
Kane Burnette’s primary practice involves serving as bond counsel to municipalities, counties, boards of education and public corporations throughout Alabama on both publicly underwritten and privately placed tax-exempt financings. Kane is particularly active in the public education sector, where he has represented both public universities and boards of education on tax and finance matters, and he currently serves on the faculty of the University of Alabama's academy for finance trainin...
Michael Cafiso has broad experience in various types of tax-exempt and taxable financings, including general obligation, sales tax, revenue, special assessment, certificate of participation, and municipal leasing issues and financings for water and sewer, industrial development health care, tax increment, housing and education projects.
Barry Carrigan focuses his practice on project finance, infrastructure finance and public finance. Barry represents developers, issuers and lenders on a range of project finance and public finance projects including renewable energy facilities, transit oriented developments, waste to energy projects, charter schools and multi-family housing transactions.Barry has been selected as one of The Bond Buyer’s 2020 Rising Stars, a program which showcases the brightest young minds in the munici...
Bob Collie serves as bond, disclosure, and underwriters’ counsel in tax-exempt bond transactions for clients including cities, counties, school districts, and special authorities throughout Texas. He has also worked on education, transportation, utility, aviation, port, convention center, and sports facility financings. Bob draws on his experience as City Attorney of Houston to represent local governments as special counsel in joint public/private development, election, redistricting, a...
Liz Columbo represents governments and public authorities, issuers, underwriters, financial institutions, and investors on tax-exempt and taxable financings for a variety of public infrastructure projects, with an emphasis on public power, transportation, multi-family housing facilities, and stadiums and arenas. She also advises clients with respect to regulatory developments and disclosure practices. What do you focus on? Today I focus my practice on four main sectors, leveraging more than 2...
Jeremy Cook is a shareholder and public finance attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Charleston office. Jeremy serves as co-leader of the Public Finance practice group and is the administrative shareholder for the Charleston office. He regularly serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter's counsel in connection with bond issues for cities, counties, state entities and school districts across South Carolina.
Michela has dedicated her career to mastering the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code as they relate to tax-exempt bonds. She has represented issuers, underwriters and borrowers in all manner of borrowings, including advance refundings, commercial paper programs and certificates of participation, among others. She has also successfully represented conduit borrowers and issuers in connection with IRS tax compliance audits and the IRS Voluntary Closing Agreement Program. Working in the area...
William R. DeHaan has focused his practice in the area of municipal finance since 1986. He has served as bond counsel, underwriter's counsel, issuer's counsel and trustee's counsel in an extensive range of municipal financings, including general obligation, enterprise (utility) revenue, school district, housing, student loan, 501(c)(3) and special districts. Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Bill was the office managing partner for the Phoenix office of a national law firm.
Albert A. del Castillo focuses his practice on public finance law, with an emphasis on bond issues throughout the state of Florida and Puerto Rico. Albert has served clients as bond counsel, underwriters’ counsel and disclosure counsel in a variety of issues, including general obligation, infrastructure, electric, water and sewer, health care, education, resource recovery, sports facilities, special assessment, community development district, and industrial development financing. He has...
Charlton deSaussure is a shareholder and experienced public finance attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Charleston office. Charlton has served as bond counsel for political subdivisions in the issuance of both tax-exempt and taxable borrowings for over 40 years and has routinely helped find financing solutions for public/private partnerships.
Catherine Dingle (formerly Kronk) is a founding member of MSK. She has extensive experience with a wide range of complex commercial transactions, including commercial finance. Kate has assisted clients in expanding their businesses and acquiring assets throughout Vermont, New York, New England, and Canada. Her practice also includes representing local Vermont companies and regional, Canadian, and other foreign businesses and banks in complex commercial transactions, such as large credit facil...
Mr. Draikiwicz, recognized in Best Lawyers ® for Public Finance Law, has worked exclusively in the area of public finance since 1982. He has served in various capacities on public finance transactions undertaken by state, county, and municipal governmental entities, including serving as bond counsel, letter of credit bank counsel, underwriter counsel and trustee counsel. He has also handled a full range of tax-exempt financing transactions for governmental issuers, including general oblig...
Theodore DuBose, a shareholder and public finance attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office, has more than 25 years of experience in counseling South Carolina governments in public finance and related matters. Theodore often represents political subdivisions, school districts, and the State of South Carolina as bond counsel for general obligation and revenue bonds, tax anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, installment-purchase financing, equipment lease-purchase contracts a...
Phil Faccenda, managing partner of the South Bend office, advises on the full array of municipal finance and corporate transactions. Clients and colleagues alike appreciate Phil’s dedication to their legal needs, conscientious responsiveness and resolute focus on client goals. Phil regularly counsels and assists clients in financing transactions and general corporate matters. He also serves as bond counsel in a variety of taxable and tax-exempt financings, including transactions for loc...
Tom Fahey advises hospitals, health systems and financial institutions on complex health care-related finance, strategy and compliance issues. Within the firm, Tom is managing partner of the Chicago office and is a member of the firm’s management committee. What do you focus on? I represent health care industry clients in the following areas: Strategic Transactions I advise health care providers on strategic issues and provide legal counsel to guide them in executing their strategies. I...
Dianne Coady Fisher serves as bond counsel and underwriters' counsel on a variety of private activity tax-exempt financings, including single-family mortgage bonds, multifamily housing bonds, and health care financings. Additionally, she serves as borrowers' counsel in acquisitions of bond-financed multifamily housing projects and debt restructurings, including unsecured REIT borrowings. Dianne also acts as counsel to bond purchasers in private placement of multifamily housing bonds for new c...
Peter Franklin works with state agencies, local governments and special infrastructure financing districts, companies and developers in a wide variety of New Mexico public finance transactions, including general obligation and revenue bond transactions, formation of public improvement districts and tax increment districts, bond transactions and ongoing projects and operations, economic development and redevelopment projects, industrial revenue bond projects and 501(c)(3) transactions. Peter a...
Bill Gehrig has practiced public finance law for more than 25 years as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, general counsel, disclosure counsel and special tax counsel in more than 2,000 debt financings and refinancings totaling more than $25 billion. Bill has wide-ranging experience in single-family and multifamily bond financings, refundings, and restructuring transactions.
Adam Gordon is a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Project Finance and Public Finance group. His practice concentrates on infrastructure, economic development, and project finance. Adam serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriters’ counsel, and bank counsel on tax-exempt and taxable bond issuances. He has worked on private activity, nonprofit, housing, transportation, pooled lending, waste management, and public power financings, and has written and published articles on publ...
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