Public Finance

The firm has been involved in nearly every type of financing undertaken by public agencies, and for over 40 years has helped to develop many innovative financing programs. Our attorneys address unique financing problems with a solutions-oriented approach to working with the issuer and the rest of its finance team.

Stradling has maintained a public finance practice for more than 40 years and is a perennial leader in public finance in California. We have 34 attorneys in the Firm who work in the area of public finance, including federal income taxation as it relates to public finance, and related areas of public law. Our California municipal finance practice is the second largest in the State. Over the past five years, Stradling’s California-based attorneys have completed more than 900 transactions as bond counsel to cities, counties, special districts and other public agencies, representing over $42.5 billion in principal amount of municipal securities. Our disclosure counsel work in California over such period represented 928 transactions, totaling over $50.1 billion principal amount. In 2019, according to Thomson Reuters, we ranked 2nd in California as bond counsel based upon par amount of bonds issued, and 1st in California as disclosure counsel based upon number of transactions.

For each of 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, we participated in more bond issuances in California as bond counsel, disclosure counsel or underwriters counsel than any other law firm. Being involved in so many transactions provides us with greater breadth of experience and practical "know-how" than any of our peers, and this directly benefits our clients. 

The Firm is also highly ranked nationally.  In 2019, we were the seventh ranked bond counsel nationally, acting in such capacity in 187 transactions totaling nearly $12 billion, the second ranked disclosure counsel nationally, acting in such capacity in 196 transactions totaling nearly $16 billion, and the eighth ranked underwriter’s counsel nationally, acting in such capacity in 149 transactions totaling nearly $7.9 billion, in many cases drafting the official statement in the capacity of underwriter’s counsel.  The Firm’s national rankings are even more impressive considering that the Firm acts as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter’s counsel in just a handful of western states, whereas most of the Firm’s competitors operate nationally.

  • Affordable housing
  • State and federal securities laws
  • Federal tax 
  • K -14 education
  • Charter schools
  • Community college and higher education
  • City, county, and state general fund lease revenue
  • Water, sewer, electrical, and solid waste enterprise revenue
  • Stadium financing
  • Land secured financing
  • 501(c) nonprofit corporations
  • Transportation and airports
  • Municipal SEC Enforcement
  • Municipal bankruptcy

 

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