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Overview

Hinckley Allen’s Public Finance Group attorneys are nationally recognized experts in the field of municipal finance. We serve as bond counsel to issuers in every New England state, and we provide bond, lender and underwriter’s counsel services and federal tax law expertise in New England and across the country. Our collaborative, diverse team has extensive knowledge of the public finance market which allows us to identify potential issues early and offer practical solutions. Our team members are active members of and contributors to the work of the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL). We are also active in our communities and committed participants in our firm’s many diversity, equity & inclusion initiatives. Through the thousands of successful transactions we have negotiated, we have helped our clients access tens of billions of dollars of investment in the public infrastructure and capital projects that power the economy and stimulate job growth.

What We Do

We facilitate the issuance of bonds for state and local governments and a variety of other eligible borrowers, including educational, health care, cultural and other 501(c)(3) organizations, to enable them to invest in their infrastructure and build stronger communities.

Our work involves both tax-exempt and taxable bond financings employing a variety of security structures ranging from general obligation pledges to limited revenue or special obligation securities. In addition to the issuance of bonds, our clients seek our advice in connection with general corporate governance and taxable finance structures, including letters of credit, construction loans, bridge loans and securitization programs, and tax controversy matters, such as IRS audits of tax-exempt bond issues.

By the Numbers: 2023

See how we drove results for our clients in 2023 across the industries we serve.

150+

Deals Closed

$1.9B

Deal Value

Services

We offer a full spectrum of public finance services. We serve clients as:

  • Bond counsel
  • Borrower’s counsel
  • Underwriter’s counsel
  • Disclosure counsel
  • Commercial bank counsel
  • Issuing authority counsel
  • Bond purchaser counsel
  • Corporate trustee counsel
  • Special tax counsel

We advise public finance clients on a variety of finance matters, including:

  • Arbitrage rebate compliance
  • Bond purchase agreements
  • Charitable fundraising and endowment management issues
  • Corporate approvals and authorizations
  • Cross-border financing
  • Defeasance escrow structuring
  • Drafting of and amendments to enabling legislation
  • ESG and “green” bond qualification
  • Guaranteed investment contracts
  • Interest rate swaps
  • IRS audits and other IRS proceedings, including VCAP
  • Letters of credit and bond insurance policies
  • Loan and continuing covenants agreements
  • Preparation of primary offering and continuing disclosure documents
  • Private business use analysis
  • Public offerings, limited offerings and direct purchases
  • Public-Private Partnerships (P3s)
  • Real estate and construction/development issues
  • Reimbursement resolutions and analysis
  • Rendering of borrower’s counsel opinions for 501(c)(3) organizations and other corporate borrowers
  • SEC Rule 15c2-12 compliance
  • Securitization financings
  • SOFR and other index substitutions for LIBOR-indexed financial instruments
  • Standby bond purchase agreements
  • Tender offer solicitations

Experience

We represent and assist a broad range of bond issuers. Our clients include:

  • A number of Cities and Towns, including:
    • Lawrence
    • Revere
    • Salem
    • Watertown
    • Winchester
  • Charter schools
  • Colleges and Universities, including Brown University, Dartmouth College and Harvard University
  • Hospitals and healthcare systems, including Beth Israel Lahey Health, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and UMass Memorial
  • Massachusetts Clean Water Trust
  • Massachusetts State College Building Authority
  • Museums and cultural institutions
  • Private boarding schools
  • Private elementary and secondary schools
  • Research institutions
  • Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank
    • Clean Water and Drinking Water programs
    • Efficient Buildings Fund and Road and Bridge program
  • Senior living facilities – assisted living and skilled nursing facilities
  • Social service providers, including Seven Hills Foundation and Ocean Community YMCA
  • The State of Maine
  • The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

We are qualified to serve as bond and issuer’s counsel to the following conduit issuers:

  • Business Finance Authority of the State of New Hampshire
  • Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority
  • Finance Authority of Maine
  • Massachusetts Development Finance Agency
  • New Hampshire National Finance Authority
  • Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corporation
  • Vermont Economic Development Authority

Special Tax Counsel — We have broad experience spanning more than 20 years assisting issuers and borrowers to successfully defend IRS audits of bonds, as well as providing support in other administrative proceedings with the IRS, such as its Voluntary Closing Agreement Program (VCAP). We also consult with issuers on arbitrage rebate compliance, private business use tracking and bond remedial action measures, preparation of IRS Form 990 Schedule K for non-profit borrowers and other post-issuance compliance matters.

Newsroom

Publication

Corporate & Business Transactions Report — 2023

February 2, 2024

We represent buyers, sellers, and investors — including middle-market and family-owned companies — on their most important business transactions. Our professionals bring a critical combination of experience, practicality, and a deep understanding of ma…

Publication

IRS Activates Registration Portal for Energy Investment Subsidies Available to Tax-Exempt Entities

January 25, 2024

On December 22, 2023, the IRS activated an online portal (the “Registration Portal”) where users can register clean energy projects and investments, which can then be used to claim energy tax credits which are directly payable to state and local govern…

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Firm News

Hinckley Allen Named a Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers Since 2010

November 2, 2023

Best Lawyers has recognized Hinckley Allen as a Best Law Firm for the 14th year in a row. Firms included in the 2024 Best Law Firms list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tie…

Firm News

57 Hinckley Allen Lawyers Included in 2023 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists

October 12, 2023

A total of 57 Hinckley Allen attorneys were named to the Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Upstate New York for 2023, including those newly recognized as well as featured in Top Lists.Ger…

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