Public Finance
With 30+ attorneys dedicated to public finance law, Stradling is among the two largest public/municipal finance practices in California and regularly ranks in the Top 10 nationally. Our team delivers comprehensive, focused, and resourceful bond, disclosure, and underwriter’s counsel across a diverse range of public financings. We are known for our depth of market awareness and understanding of the critical market forces reshaping municipal finance today—ranging from impending tax reform impacting bond exemptions to widening credit quality divergence to accelerating infrastructure demands driven by climate adaptation needs.
Moreover, we are sought after for our interpretation of evolving compliance requirements while establishing innovative financing structures and results. Our solutions-oriented approach to public finance enables our clients to effectively fund critical project, infrastructure, and services financing initiatives despite challenging fiscal constraints, shifting economic conditions, and changing markets.
Amidst ongoing regulatory uncertainty, our team knows how to position clients through navigating potential shifts in municipal bond tax treatment. We remain at the forefront of congressional discussions on tax-exempt status limitations, disclosure timing challenges affecting ratings, and structured financing arrangements that accommodate infrastructure modernization and climate resilience requirements. Our forward-looking perspective proves invaluable as issuers contend with record issuance volumes preceding potential legislative changes. We represent issuers, underwriters, and other stakeholders involved in the broad spectrum of public financings, including:
- General obligation and revenue bonds
- Lease revenue and certificates of participation
- Special assessment and tax increment financings
- Conduit revenue bonds for healthcare, education, and housing
- Green bonds and sustainable finance instruments addressing climate adaptation
- Short-term notes and variable rate instruments calibrated for current market volatility
Stradling combines the deepest bench of public finance know-how and veteran experience with myriad resources spanning complementary practice disciplines, allowing us to address the multifaceted aspects of what are often complicated transactions. We monitor credit quality divergence across sectors, particularly in K-12 education and transportation infrastructure, where federal funding implications and demographic shifts create both challenges and opportunities. Our advice regarding timely financial disclosure is particularly appreciated as the market experiences a significant uptick in ratings withdrawals due to reporting delays.
Our team has successfully developed numerous innovative financing programs designed to overcome unique challenges facing public agencies. We vigorously represent clients throughout the entire financing process, from initial structuring discussions to document preparation, due diligence, pricing, and closing. The breadth of our skills directly benefits clients seeking efficient, effective solutions to their public financing needs across a rapidly evolving municipal landscape. Moreover, among our team members are veteran advisors who focus exclusively on federal income taxation related to public finance and other public law areas. Their insights prove particularly valuable when helping clients navigate potential tax reform measures affecting exemption status and disclosure requirements.
Our decades of public finance successes +/-
- Completed 1,100+ transactions as bond counsel over past five years, representing over $72.5 billion in municipal securities
- Completed approximately 1,100 transactions as disclosure counsel over past five years, totaling over $135.7 billion
- Ranked 2nd in California as bond counsel based on the par amount of bonds issued in 2024 (Thomson Reuters)
- Ranked 1st in California as disclosure counsel based on the number of transactions in 2024
- Participated in more bond issuances in California (as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, or underwriters counsel) than any other law firm for each of the last 10 years
- Ranked 13th as bond counsel nationally in 2024 (164 transactions totaling nearly $12 billion)
- Ranked 2ndas disclosure counsel nationally in 2024 (152 transactions totaling nearly $27 billion)
- Ranked 15th as underwriter’s counsel nationally in 2024 (116 transactions totaling nearly $8.9 billion)
Our public finance clients +/-
- Cities, counties, and local government agencies
- School districts and community college districts
- Public and private universities and colleges
- Charter schools and educational foundations
- Community facilities districts and assessment districts
- Water and wastewater districts
- Public power and municipal electric utilities
- Transportation authorities and transit agencies
- Port and airport authorities
- Healthcare institutions and hospitals
- Cultural and community organizations
- Housing authorities and affordable housing developers
- Investment banks and financial institutions
- Private developers and infrastructure companies
- Special districts and joint powers authorities
