Steptoe & Johnson was the first law firm to establish a bond practice in West Virginia, and serves clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions.  The firm’s Public Finance Team has a long, rich tradition of serving as bond counsel to municipalities, counties, building commissions and public service districts for infrastructure projects, notably water and sewer projects.  Over the last five years, team lawyers have served as bond counsel on literally hundreds of water and sewer financings, totaling more than $1 billion.

Innovative and Accessible
Throughout this time, the Public Finance Team has coordinated several highly innovative and complex utility financings serving tens of thousands of customers.  In addition to the team’s experience with large regional projects, the firm has worked extensively on financings for projects as small as $75,000.  As the following representative experience indicates, Steptoe & Johnson’s accessibility and commitment to clients, regardless of the size of the financing, sets the team apart from other law firms.

Representative Experience

• Served as bond counsel for all bond issues in the State of West Virginia secured by capacity improvement fees.
• Served as bond counsel for financing and/or restructuring of four series of tax-exempt debt to allow for the inclusion of storm-water fees in the water and sewer revenues for a municipality.
• Pioneered the use of community enhancement districts in West Virginia for financing infrastructure.

Depth and Breadth
Steptoe & Johnson’s commitment to infrastructure finance is demonstrated by the depth of talent and breadth of experience in its public finance team.  In addition to firm lawyers, Katy Mallory, a licensed professional engineer, manages all infrastructure projects, drawing on a decade of experience as the Executive Director of the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council during which time she oversaw over $1 billion dollars in infrastructure finance.

The team’s background in infrastructure finance includes experience with a wide variety of lending sources, both market rate and government subsidized: