Municipal Bonds and Public Finance

Bowles Rice lawyers handle all aspects of public finance involving traditional issuers of municipal securities such as state agencies, cities, counties, townships, schools, colleges and universities, as well as public service districts (PSDs). 

With substantial experience in all phases of economic development, municipal bonds and public finance, we have worked as Bond Counsel in both tax-exempt and taxable bond issues. Over the past four decades, we have served as bond counsel as well as underwriter’s counsel on a wide variety of public financings. 

We also have represented issuers, bond trustees, institutional bond purchasers, credit enhancement providers and program sponsors.  These other bond issues have included: public building construction and improvements; school bonds; bonds for higher education facilities; refunding bonds; bonds for other (non-highway) infrastructure and other traditional governmental activities and projects; industrial development revenue bonds issued to finance factories and infrastructure as part of economic development activities; bond issues for hospitals and other 501(c)(3) organizations; taxable bonds; and tax credit bonds.

Additionally, we have worked with two West Virginia authorities (Hospital Finance Authority and Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority) in successfully establishing the initial bonding programs under their enabling legislation. Our experience also includes a wide variety of financing structures, ranging from traditional bonds to more complex Certificates of Participation (COPs) finances and sales-leaseback transactions including leveraged leasing programs.

The knowledgeable and experienced Bowles Rice lawyers working on Municipal Bond and Public Finance projects have, collectively, nearly 100 years of relevant experience and Bowles Rice is recognized in The Bond Buyer’s Municipal Marketplace (the “Red Book”).  Using a team approach, other Bowles Rice attorneys may be involved to address specified matters within their respective practice areas, as circumstances and issues dictate.  This team approach adds significant value to our clients’ financings and recognizes that today's economic development and public finance clients often face difficult problems in areas outside traditional bond and development law. These areas include:

• Regulation of nonprofit and charitable organizations
• Ethics Act compliance
• Federal/State securities law compliance
• Federal/State fiscal and funding issues
• Federal/State tax concerns
• Board liability and protection
• Environmental regulation
• State administrative law and procedure