Whether serving government entities or private nonprofits, Venable's public finance team applies a thorough understanding of public financing structures, tax law, and compliance issues to find innovative means to advance our clients' interests and see their projects through to completion.
Venable has a long history of practice in the field of public finance. The firm has been listed in The Red Book since 1940. Our team represents state and local governments seeking to use municipal bonds for infrastructure improvements, as well as hospitals, universities, cultural institutions, and other nonprofit organizations eligible to borrow the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds. As bond counsel, we supervise the authorization of bond issues, draft disclosure documents for prospective investors, perform the tax analysis, and draft and negotiate the indentures and agreements. For conduit borrowers and stakeholders alike, Venable provides an organizing force that keeps the process on schedule, and rigorous tax analysis that ensures a solid foundation for bond-funded projects.
We have extensive experience with financings that involve combinations of debt issued by government issues with state and federal incentive programs, frequently assisting with structuring and compliance with special tax incentive programs. As a large, multistate law firm, we have extensive capabilities in environmental law, energy, land use, real estate, bankruptcy law, government relations, and other areas, and work seamlessly with our colleagues in these departments when related issues arise in any transaction. Having a full-service team at hand, along with our extensive knowledge of federal tax law, state law restrictions, and important characteristics of the market, our public finance attorneys can create a plan uniquely tailored for every engagement that gets the deal done in the most advantageous manner possible.
Tax Experience
Venable has a comprehensive tax law practice with a long history in the field of tax-exempt public finance, routinely rendering tax advice to municipal entities and private businesses. Our tax team comprises practitioners who are nationally recognized in their field, members who are active in national and local tax associations, and authors of leading tax treatises. Beyond the specific arena of tax-exempt finance, Venable offers the full range of federal, state, local, and international tax-related legal services to meet our clients' tax needs, wherever they are located. Our team's efficiency in federal and state tax matters affords our public finance clients access to a high degree of sophistication in tax analysis and compliance advice, which are crucial to the effective structuring of bond issues and related matters.
Financing Techniques
Venable attorneys are adept at implementing a wide range of financing techniques, including tax-increment financing, payment in lieu of taxes, debt funding structures, variable-rate debt interest rate swaps, credit enhancement, and assorted refinancing techniques. We also routinely help clients with ongoing compliance with covenants, tax regulations, and securities disclosure. Our representation of private nonprofit corporations in the public finance markets includes advice with respect to interest rate swap derivative transactions.