Best Lawyers in America for Economic Development Law
Practice Area Overview
From helping businesses and communities draft and respond to request for proposals, site selection to ground breaking and completion, economic development law encompasses incentives, public finance, site acquisition, insuring the provision of adequate utilities to sites, project construction, off-site improvements, equipment acquisition, and effective collaboration with local and state agencies.
The availability of financial incentives to help persuade decisions regarding choice of location and capital investments plays an integral part of successful economic development efforts. Each community will develop and offer a variety of financial incentives designed to support their growth objectives. These incentives can be financial or non-financial in nature and may include tax credits, infrastructure improvements, and work force training to name a few. Communities frequently incorporate performance-based measurements to ensure that their economic incentive investment results in the expected creation of new jobs and wages.
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Michele Allgood has extensive experience in all areas of municipal and public finance in Arkansas including bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, issuer’s counsel, trustee’s counsel, purchaser’s counsel and borrower’s counsel. She represents Arkansas state agencies, municipalities, counties, facility boards and commissions in matters of capital improvement and economic development projects. Michele has experience in taxable, tax exempt, public and private municipa...
Katie Baynes, a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Public Finance group, focuses her practice on project finance, infrastructure finance and public finance. She represents government authorities, issuers and underwriters in connection with project financings including stadiums and arenas as well as industrial development revenue bonds; college and university bonds; hospital, health care, and senior living bonds; and other exempt facility bonds. What do you focus on? Project Finance I have been ...
Chris Bowles is co-chair of Bradley’s Solar Energy Practice Group. He is an energy and economic development attorney practicing out of Bradley’s Nashville office. Chris regularly advises clients on the development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects, with an emphasis on renewable energy sources, helping them negotiate contracts and manage risk in each stage of a project’s development, including the real estate, tax and regulatory aspects of development and pr...
Barry Carrigan focuses his practice on project finance, infrastructure finance and public finance. Barry represents developers, issuers and lenders on a range of project finance and public finance projects including renewable energy facilities, transit oriented developments, waste to energy projects, charter schools and multi-family housing transactions.Barry has been selected as one of The Bond Buyer’s 2020 Rising Stars, a program which showcases the brightest young minds in the munici...
Jeremy Cook is a shareholder and public finance attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Charleston office. Jeremy serves as co-leader of the Public Finance practice group and is the administrative shareholder for the Charleston office. He regularly serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter's counsel in connection with bond issues for cities, counties, state entities and school districts across South Carolina.
David Curry is a real estate attorney representing owners and developers of commercial real estate assets including office, industrial, hotel, retail, and mixed-use properties. A versatile transactional lawyer, Dave advises clients in leasing, financing, purchase and sale, Industrial Development Agency (IDA), air rights, and construction contract negotiations. Dave represents lending institutions and borrowers in real estate acquisition and construction financing, both mortgage and mezzanine....
Peter Curry is a commercial real estate and economic development lawyer representing clients across the New York metropolitan area and nationally. Peter’s broad transactional practice includes commercial real estate sales, acquisitions, leasing, and development. Major corporations in the telecommunications, technology, pharmaceuticals manufacturing, food manufacturing and distribution, and other fields seek Peter’s assistance in real estate matters. He guides clients through the a...
Frank Davis is a shareholder and experienced economic development attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Greenville office. Frank represents both publicly and privately held companies, including family businesses, in acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, strategic alliances, economic development transactions and general contract negotiations.
Blake Fulton is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group. He concentrates in the areas of incentivized public and private project finance, state and local government law, and economic development incentives. Blake develops and negotiates incentivized project finance transactions throughout the Gulf South and nationally. His experience includes a variety of tax credit finance matters, having handled numerous deals in connection with new markets and historic tax credits, as well as certified c...
Erica Garrison is known for her creative problem solving, her client-centered approach and her unique understanding of municipal and state regulatory law. She specifically focuses her practice on entitlement and land-use projects in Nashville, helping to shape the landscape by permitting and entitling numerous projects that have beneficially impacted the city’s skyline. Erica daily interfaces with agencies in Nashville and the surrounding mid-south area, and she is well-known for her en...
Joe’s practice is focused on federal, state and local taxation, including planning and controversy resolution. Joe has represented clients successfully before the Tennessee tax administrative bodies and before Tennessee courts, including the Tennessee Supreme Court. Joe represents a number of Fortune 500 companies with respect to their Tennessee tax matters. Joe also represents clients in federal tax controversy resolution, including administrative appeals and representation before the ...
As bond counsel to counties, cities, towns, school corporations and other governmental entities, Rick advises on the financing of local infrastructure projects. He also represents hospitals, retirement communities and other nonprofit organizations in obtaining tax-exempt financing. In addition, Rick serves as underwriter's, credit provider's and issuer's counsel and is recognized by The Best Lawyers in America in public finance law. Rick is counsel to the Indiana Association of County Commiss...
George Harris provides comprehensive and strategic legal and policy advice and representation to clients across various industries and sectors. With over 30 years of in-house and law firm experience, George has developed a deep expertise in advocacy before executive and legislative decision makers at all levels of government. He has experience and substantive knowledge working with business and commercial matters, government contracting issues, public entities, municipal utilities, healthcare...
John Haynes' primary practice involves the development, acquisition, financing, leasing and sale of institutional quality investment properties, with a special emphasis on serving German clients. John has assisted many German investors with various deal structures, including fee simple purchases, ground leases, master leases and joint ventures with owners and developers who are based in the United States. He is one of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings' delegates to AFIRE, the Association for Forei...
Wood Herren concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate transactions, federal, state and local taxation, exempt organizations, emerging businesses, health care organizations and industrial development. He is also regularly involved in transactions for the purchase, sale, lease and exchange of private aircraft. Wood advises clients on a broad range of corporate matters, including structuring, financing, and negotiation of business acquisitions and dispositions, entity conversions, join...
Trey Hill concentrates his practice primarily in the area of economic development where he assists business clients in negotiating incentive packages. Trey regularly deals with a wide variety of industries, including automotive, manufacturing, metal, energy, and finance, among others. While Trey’s practice is focused primarily in Alabama, he routinely represents clients all over the Southeast and other regions of the United States. Trey also actively represents cities, counties, and ind...
Will Johnson leads Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Economic Development practice group and concentrates his practice on economic development, corporate law and tax matters. Will's work in the economic development area includes negotiating and drafting fee in lieu of tax agreements, structuring special source revenue credit arrangements and assisting companies with a host of other incentives such as job development credits, job tax credits and state and local economic development grants. His work in...
Rod Kanter is a member of the firm's Public Finance Practice Group and the Emerging Growth Company Team. His primary practice includes serving as bond counsel, underwriter's counsel, and counsel to issuers of letters of credit in all types of tax-exempt and taxable debt financings. His representation of clients include the State of Alabama, various health care authorities, cities and counties, colleges and universities, industrial development boards, commercial development authorities, airpor...
Alex B. Leath is a partner in the firm’s Economic Development Practice Group and the Tax Practice Group. Since 1990, Alex has been involved in a significant number of the major economic development projects in the Southeast. As a result, he is one of the most trusted economic development attorneys in the region. Leading companies regularly seek him out for counsel on their relocation and site-selection matters, knowing his broad experience will serve them well. Alex has extensive experi...
Thomas P. Leggett has practiced exclusively in the area of public finance since 1976. His practice encompasses bond and other debt offerings issued by or on behalf of the various public instrumentalities in Arkansas and elsewhere. Tom specializes in the public financing of private business projects and has participated in the financing of industrial facilities throughout Arkansas and in a number of other states. His professional experience includes serving as bond counsel for industrial devel...
Jimmy concentrates his practice primarily in the area of state and local tax matters, including income, franchise and transactional taxes and various tax incentives. Jimmy also assists clients with federal tax issues, including those related to forming, acquiring, reorganizing and operating their businesses as corporations or various limited liability entities. Jimmy has represented clients in state and local tax controversies during each stage of the proceeding, including the Alabama Departm...
Alan Marcuvitz is a Shareholder in the Real Estate Section. He is recognized as one of Wisconsin’s preeminent attorneys in the fields of eminent domain and real property taxation, based on his extensive experience in both trial and appellate courts. Many of his Wisconsin Supreme Court cases are cited with the following representative cases being cited frequently: Warehouse II, LLC v. State Dept. of Transp. , 2006 WI 62, 291 Wis. 2d 80, 715 N.W.2d 213 Metropolitan Holding Company vs. Boa...
Kim Martin represents real estate developers, investors and owners of residential, commercial, industrial, TOD and mixed-use projects. She has a specific focus on large-scale greenfield and brownfield development projects, including all aspects of land use entitlements—securing approvals for annexations, development agreements, zonings and rezonings, subdivisions, site plans, transferable development rights, public revenue sharing agreements and vested property rights. Kim assists clien...
Kathy McKinney is a shareholder and public finance attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Greenville office. Kathy assists healthcare and educational institutions in mergers, acquisitions, expansions and affiliations, with a focus on addressing legal strategies for taxable and tax-exempt debt and other financing options.
Gary Morris is a shareholder and economic development attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office. Gary is also involved in all aspects of real estate transactions, including acquisition, land use and financing. Gary advises on every aspect of corporate expansion and has represented clients in various LLC, partnership and corporate disputes, financial and banking litigation, defense of legal malpractice cases, environmental litigation, eminent domain battles, prosecution of insuranc...
Jim focuses his practice on representing public and private sector clients in complex matters involving zoning, condemnation, economic incentives, elections, telecommunications, municipal law, environmental law and commercial real estate. He assists clients in landfill development, obtaining economic incentives from state and local governments, locating cell towers, condemnations, election challenges, rezonings, annexation disputes and procurement challenges. Jim practiced for 18 years in the...
Chris Pace is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group. He advises on project finance and economic development law, state and local government law, economic development incentives, and gaming law. Chris’ clients include county and municipal governmental bodies as well as new and expanding business concerns, examples of which include a large steel company investing more than $1 billion in a new facility, and a regional beverage supplier investing millions of dollars to expand its existi...
David Paragas serves as a devoted advocate who emphasizes technical strength and preparation. David represents a wide array of clients in forums that stretch from the statehouse to the courthouse – and on issues that range from healthcare to educational programs to homelessness. Co-chair of the firm’s Federal Relations practice, David advises on policy matters before the White House and federal agencies and the Ohio General Assembly, state agencies and departments. David provides ...
Mark I. Shublak, a partner in Ice Miller's Public Affairs Group, has a multi-dimensional government relations practice that combines public policy advocacy with traditional legal skills. He represents clients in a wide range of matters before legislative and executive bodies at all levels of government. Mark's legislative practice focuses on state and local lobbying, legislative monitoring, grassroots programming and political strategy. His practice spans across all industry sectors, includin...
Bradley J. Sklar is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he serves as Co-Leader of the Dentons Tax National Practice Group. Brad focuses on complex tax, entity, and business planning transactions, including mergers and acquisitions; sales of businesses; sale and purchase structuring and funding of large real estate transactions; raising capital; and navigation of state and local tax incentives. He counsels clients in tax and business planning and entity st...
Mark Smith is a business and regulatory lawyer who focuses his practice on economic development, government relations and telecommunications and utility matters. Mark has been involved in numerous state and local tax incentive projects with capital investments ranging from less than $2 million to more than $1 billion. He also represents a wide range of clients before the Tennessee General Assembly and before various State agencies and local governmental entities. Mark serves as Assistant Gene...
Gregory W. Stype is a partner in the Columbus office of Barnes & Thornburg, where he is a member of the Government Services and Finance Department. With more than 30 years of experience, Gregory devotes his practice to public and infrastructure finance and economic development. Gregory has served as counsel to state government entities, including the Ohio Public Facilities Commission, the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, and the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, as well as...
Tom Trent has experience in all areas of real estate transactions, including industrial development and economic incentives, leasing, corporate, joint venture, partnership and limited liability company law, and tax-exempt finance. Tom represents clients regionally and nationally, including major manufacturing companies, corporate users of commercial real estate, institutional investors, developers and lenders, and a number of foreign corporations. With more than 30 years of experience in real...
Ben Zeigler is a bond lawyer and shareholder in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Florence office. Ben is a leader in tax-exempt bond financings and economic development and has a wide range of experience in all areas of public finance, both tax-exempt and taxable bonds, and in economic development and incentive transactions.
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