Practice Areas & Industries: Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Baker Donelson's Public Law Practice Group focuses on three primary areas:

• Government Law, where we represent government clients in carrying out their duties and responsibilities;

• Public Policy, where we represent clients seeking specific or strategic action from a local, state or federal government body; and

• Public Finance, where we serve as bond and tax counsel and also represent issuers, borrowers, underwriters, bond purchasers, trustees, credit enhancers and other parties to bond and debt financings by public entities and those private entities able to do tax exempt financings or able to benefit from various tax incentives related to bond financings.

Services Available

Government Law

Baker Donelson serves as general counsel and special counsel to a wide range of local, regional and state governmental and quasi governmental bodies. While our experience covers all areas of Government Law, we have extensive experience in the following areas:

Airports

Our lawyers regularly provide legal services to metropolitan airport authorities and an airport association. We have been involved in every conceivable aspect of airport operations, including aeronautical and non aeronautical ground leases, air cargo, aviation easements, bankruptcies, commercial airline leases and permits, concession agreements, consultant contracts, construction projects, cooperative agreements with other public bodies, diversity and small business development, environmental permitting, FAA administrative and enforcement proceedings, financing capital improvements, federal and state grants, general aviation, ground transportation, marketing incentive programs, joint use agreements with the military, land acquisition and eminent domain, minimum standards for operators, noise mitigation, operating agreements, personnel and employment matters, procurements, security regulations and enforcement, software licensing and service agreements, trademarks, wastewater collection, zoning and the ever expanding world of FAA regulations. We have an experienced and knowledgeable public policy team in Washington that works with the FAA and Congress on regulatory and legislative matters of importance to our airport clients, and our public finance lawyers have worked with airports on a wide variety of financing structures.

Economic Development

We have served as special counsel to numerous local governments, regional commissions and a state economic development agency in connection with the development of strategic plans and the accomplishment of specific commercial, retail, manufacturing and tourism projects. As outside counsel, we have assisted in the development and application of legislation providing specialized incentive programs for a wide variety of eligible projects and businesses.

Housing

We have one of the largest and most extensive affordable housing practices in the region. An integral part of the practice entails representing housing authorities and state housing finance agencies. We serve as general and special counsel to housing authorities, which includes (i) work in connection with a $60,000,000 HOPE VI Development, and (ii) a state-wide consortium of housing authorities in Mississippi which have pooled their resources for a multi-million dollar debt financing. We also have deep experience working with state governments and housing finance agencies. One of our attorneys recently served as legal counsel to the Housing Committee of the Mississippi Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal following Hurricane Katrina.

Insurance

We have considerable experience in state and federal insurance regulatory matters, and have served as special counsel to a state insurance department in a wide variety of matters, including without limitation re domestication transactions and the placement of companies in receivership and liquidation. Our experience involves all types of insurance companies, including property and casualty, automobile, health and accident, and life insurance.

Litigation and Government Investigations

We have represented local governments in a wide range of civil and criminal investigations, audits and administrative proceedings, and have lawyers with extensive investigatory and trial experience in local, state and federal law enforcement matters. For example we currently represent a state human services department in massive litigation regarding the state's foster care system.

Procurements and Contracts

We are knowledgeable in all types of local, state and federal (i) procurements, (ii) requests for qualifications and requests for proposals for professional and consultant services, and (iii) comprehensive construction projects. Our lawyers routinely prepare complex bid packages and contracts in compliance with local, state and federal requirements.

Public Infrastructure

We have served as special counsel to numerous local, regional and state governments in connection with the planning, construction, management and financing of all types of public infrastructure, including potable and industrial water systems, transportation/road corridors, intermodal facilities, airports, gulf and river ports, telecommunications systems, and wastewater collection and treatment systems. These projects are typically long-term and require specific and strategic counseling.

Special Projects

We have worked with local and state governments on a variety of special need projects. For example, the Firm provides legal compliance review as part of a team assisting a state emergency management agency in auditing contracts and recovery grants related to Hurricane Katrina.

Public Policy

Public policy attorneys and advisors round out Baker Donelson's public law offerings. Our active and successful Public Policy practice operates at the state and federal levels, representing clients who seek specific and strategic administrative and policy action by local, state and federal government agencies and authorities. Our team is also extremely effective in achieving state and federal legislative solutions for our clients, including drafting, monitoring, testifying and lobbying for and against specific appropriations and legislation.

Our Public Policy team has specific experience in the following areas: aerospace; affordable housing; airports; banking and financial services; commercial and consumer finance; economic development projects and programs; energy; environmental regulation; ethics compliance; federal and state election laws; foreign relations; gaming; health care; information technology; insurance; intellectual property; labor and employment; local, state and federal government budgets, appropriations, financing and grants; multi-modal transportation; national security; Native American affairs; ports; privatization of public services; procurement and proposal development; public finance; public infrastructure; telecommunications; tourism and recreational facilities; wastewater systems and water resources.

Please see our Federal Public Policy, State Public Policy and Hurricane Reconstruction practice descriptions for more information about our experience and capabilities.

Public Finance

Baker Donelson's Public Finance practice is national in scope and includes attorneys who are recognized by Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Public Finance Law. Over the past three years, the Firm's lawyers have been involved in the issuance of over $2 billion in long term municipal debt.

Our lawyers have served as bond counsel, underwriter's counsel, issuer's counsel, trustee's counsel, bond insurer's counsel and credit enhancer's counsel in virtually every area of both tax exempt and taxable public finance in the states of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

The Firm's Public Finance lawyers have advised governmental issuers and underwriters in all phases of both general obligation and revenue bond financings, and both current and advance refundings. We have assisted in the financing of:

• water and sewer systems
• port and airport facilities
• multi-family and single family housing
• hospital and healthcare equipment and facilities
• economic and community development
• tourism projects
• higher education facilities
• capital improvements
• tax-exempt leasing pool programs

Many of these financings have been structured as floating or variable rate put transactions involving credit enhancement. The Firm has also developed alternative financing structures such as real estate and equipment certificates of participation and lease-purchase financings, and complex pooled security programs.

The Public Finance Group is experienced in tax matters related to Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Treasury regulations and rulings related thereto. In all types of traditional municipal and private activity financings, Baker Donelson's lawyers have been responsible, as bond counsel, for the tax analysis regarding compliance with the arbitrage and arbitrage rebate rules.

Our lawyers have conducted or participated in numerous bond validation proceedings. The Firm's litigation practice group provides advice and support in the event of a contested validation proceeding. The Firm's public finance lawyers have also represented trustees, bondholders and issuers in default situations.