Tell us about your practice.
Approximately 80% of my work is public finance. I work on all types of public financings, including traditional financings for cities and counties, conduit financing for charitable organizations and low-income housing financings. I also do a considerable amount of related economic development work, primarily representing governmental entities. I also continue to do some commercial lending work and some real estate work.
What is an interesting trend happening right now related to your field of practice?
The biggest trend that has affected my practice in the last couple of years is that we are doing much more economic incentive work, using tax abatement and tax increment financing. Many folks would call this public private partnership work. This type of work did not use to be a big part of my practice, but now I have several economic development project going at all times. It is challenging work, but it often involves cool projects that make a big difference in the communities in which we work.
Why did you choose to pursue a career in the legal field?
I had an uncle for whom I was named who was a lawyer. I didn’t know any lawyers other than him, and I thought he was really cool. And my parents were both college professors, which I thought was terribly boring. I now know that my parents had interesting and meaningful careers, and my uncle’s career was not all it was hyped up to be. But at the time, I wanted to be a lawyer like my uncle. And I am lucky that I ended up at a great firm doing legal work I actually enjoy.