Tom has more than 30 years of experience in providing legal guidance on billions of dollars of municipal bond transactions ranging from bond issues for basic infrastructure such as schools, water and sewer facilities, power plants, roads and airports, to highly structured transactions for home ownership and residential rental housing and student loans. Meeting the objectives of his clients requires an intricate knowledge of the financial aspects of their transactions, the federal tax and securities law aspects of their transaction, the underlying laws and policies that apply to the transactions, and also understanding the “big picture” issues of how a transaction falls within the overall financial plan of a given client.
Practicing almost exclusively on North Carolina based transactions, Tom has been a leader in the development of the North Carolina public finance world during his career. He has been the draftsman of most of the bond and other public finance related laws enacted by the North Carolina legislature in the last 25 years, and has also been involved in the development of new financing techniques that begin as the innovative new product and evolve into the mainstream.
Tom has been a frequent presenter at conferences of public officials in North Carolina, including the North Carolina Government Finance Officers Association, the North Carolina Municipal Attorneys Association and the North Carolina County Attorneys Association. He recently presented a discussion on Securities Law compliance to the American Public Power Association. Tom is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, and has participated in numerous panel discussions at NABL events.
Honors and Awards
- Chambers USA Ranked Lawyer, Public Finance, North Carolina, 2016 – Present
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings) in the fields of Banking and Finance Law, Public Finance Law, Securities / Capital Markets Law, 2005 – Present
- Listed in Best Attorneys Network, 2005
Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Represented bond counsel clients including some of the busiest issuers in the State, such as the State of North Carolina; major Cities and Towns such as Raleigh and Cary; major Counties, including Wake County, the second largest County in the State; the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency; and the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, two of the three major airports in the State.
- In addition, Tom includes among his clients over 100 other local governments that require services less often, but require the skill set he offers when services are required.
- Represented every major financial institution that underwrites bonds of North Carolina issuers, including the underwriters of billions of dollars of bonds issued by the two municipal power agencies in the State.
