Find Lawyers in New York, United States 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).
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Ken Lind is a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Project Finance and Public Finance group. He works with issuers, underwriters, financial advisors, banks and concession bidders on a range of public finance and project finance projects. He advises clients on public offerings and private placements serving as bond, underwriters’, disclosure, derivatives or bank counsel. What do you focus on? Infrastructure Much of my work involves financings related to infrastructure, primarily transportati...
Real Estate Jeanine focuses her practice on representing for-profit and not-for-profit owners and developers in connection with the acquisition, financing, development and disposition of commercial, mixed-use and residential properties, including affordable and supportive housing projects and skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living facilities. Such representation includes all aspects of acquisition, development, construction and financing through the use of tax-exempt bond iss...
Chris Reitzel is a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Project Finance and Public Finance group. He works with issuers, underwriters and financial advisors on public and project finance projects across a broad range of sectors. He serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriters’ counsel on public offerings and private placements. His diverse transactional background includes taxable and tax-exempt debt, complex variable rate products including subordinated and senior commercial...
Barry leads the Public Finance department’s derivatives practice, acts as bond counsel and additionally acts as counsel to nonprofit borrowers, underwriters and liquidity/credit providers. His derivative clients include municipal entities, for-profit and nonprofit corporations, retirement systems, and swap providers. What do you focus on? Swap Transactions I have extensive experience in drafting and negotiating ISDA Master Agreements and related Credit Support Documentation and Confirma...
Scott Singer focuses on project finance and public-private partnerships. He has been actively involved with domestic and international infrastructure projects in a variety of industries, including energy, waste management, water and wastewater, transportation, healthcare, education, and sports and entertainment. Mr. Singer has represented numerous developers, lenders, and governmental entities in the development, contracting, and financing of complex projects.
Abigail Sterling Olsen, an attorney in Nixon Peabody’s Project Finance and Public Finance group, works with issuers, underwriters and financial advisors on a range of public finance projects. She advises clients on public offerings and private placements serving as bond, underwriters’, disclosure, and special counsel. What do you focus on? Public Finance Transactions I work on financings for transportation, education, public power and environmental facilities as well as on tobacco...
William Weir is experienced in tax-exempt bond financings, commercial real estate, secured lending, general corporate and tax practice. His principal areas of practice include bond counsel work in connection with industrial development revenue bonds, local development corporation bonds, civic facility revenue bonds, college and university bonds, solid waste resource recovery bonds, hospital and health care bonds, other exempt facility bonds, multi-family housing bonds, continuing care retirem...
Virginia Wong is co-head of the firm’s Infrastructure Finance team and a member of the firm’s Public Finance and Project Finance practice groups. Mrs. Wong represents both issuers and underwriters in a full range of transactions including public offerings and private placements and, in particular, project bond transactions and tax-exempt revenue bond financings. What do you focus on? My practice focuses on capital markets transactions involving infrastructure and transportation as...
Howard joined Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP in 1977 as an associate and became a member of the Firm in January 1985, and was a member of the firm's management committee for 30 years, and managing partner for 25 years. He is a past president of the 3,000-member National Association of Bond Lawyers (“NABL”), ending his term in September 2000, whereupon The Bond Buyer wrote he was stepping down “with kudos from regulators and other market participants for dramatically changi...
Eric Brenner is an associate in Nixon Peabody’s Project Finance and Public Finance group, serving a wide variety of clients, including financial institutions, issuers, underwriters, and borrowers on taxable and tax-exempt public finance transactions. My focus I strive to serve my clients with efficient and forward looking strategies in all facets of public finance and project finance with a constant focus on overarching client objectives and needs. I represent a wide variety of clients ...
Frank Marallo concentrates his practice on real estate finance and municipal finance transactions. He serves as counsel to commercial banks, not-for-profit lenders and not-for profit developers in the documentation and closing of mortgage financings, acquisition and construction loans, asset-based lines of credit and direct tax-exempt and taxable bond purchases. Mr. Marallo has substantial experience in transactions involving tax-exempt bond issuances, government subsidies and low-income hous...
Terance Walsh is an associate in Nixon Peabody’s Public Finance group. He primarily represents industrial development agencies, local development corporations and other municipal bond issuers in tax-exempt bond and leaseback transactions. What do you focus on? Industrial Development Agencies I represent industrial development agencies in numerous leaseback transactions that provide abatements in real property tax and exemptions from mortgage recording and sales tax to incentivize econom...
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