Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP, a national leader in municipal finance and public law, opened a new office in Portland, Oregon. The new office is the Firm’s first office in the Pacific Northwest region. The new Hawkins Portland office is joining New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Newark, Hartford and Washington, D.C. as the firm’s eighth office. The experienced public finance team resident in Portland is led by new partners Harvey Rogers, Ann Sherman, Carol McCoog and Jennifer Córdova resident in the Portland office. Gülgün Uğur is joining the Hawkins Portland office as an associate. Previously, they all had practiced in the Portland office of K&L Gates LLP.
Hawkins has more attorneys devoted to public finance and public projects than any law firm in the nation. Hawkins is perennially rated among the most active bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel in the country, and based on dollar volume, Thomson Financial Securities Data Database’s all-time rankings place the Firm second among bond counsel and first among underwriter’s counsel nationally.
Howard Zucker, a member of the Hawkins management committee, commented on the new office and the lateral hires: “For many years, Hawkins has enjoyed an active public finance practice in the Pacific Northwest. The opportunity to welcome such preeminent lawyers to our firm, and to open an office near so many of our valued clients at the same time, is extraordinarily exciting. For existing Hawkins clients, this represents yet another example of Hawkins’ continued commitment to public finance and public projects. The clients of this very talented group of lawyers will continue to receive great service from their trusted attorneys -- with the added capabilities and resources of an industry-leading firm. Also, it’s significant that Portland will be Hawkins’ fourth West Coast office, which reflects both the size of our existing practice in that region and our expectations of further growth.”
Harvey Rogers echoed Mr. Zucker’s enthusiasm: “We’ve worked with Hawkins lawyers for many years, so we know each other very well. We like and respect each other a great deal. It is rare, I think, for lawyers to have an opportunity to both expand and strengthen client services and join forces with such good friends and colleagues. We are just tickled about this -- it is a total win-win as far as I’m concerned.”
Mr. Rogers has practiced public finance law for more than 35 years, working on a wide range of financings with state agencies, cities, counties and other local governments. His work includes “traditional” general obligation and revenue bond issues, certificates of participation, tax increment and public power financings. He is known for unusual and innovative financings, and lately has been spending much of his time helping issuers adapt to the after-effects of the financial crash, cope with impending changes in disclosure requirements for municipal borrowings, and explore whether public private partnerships will allow governments to deliver services to their constituents on more favorable terms. Mr. Rogers has been listed in every edition of Best Lawyers in America® since 2007, in 2011 was named the Portland public finance "Best Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers, and was named Best Lawyers’ 2012 Portland, OR Municipal Law Lawyer of the Year.
Ms. Sherman has provided bond counsel, underwriter's counsel and disclosure counsel services for governmental, housing, healthcare and tribal projects for over twenty years. She has acted as bond counsel to the majority of pooled financings in Oregon, which have included financings for the Special District's Association of Oregon, the League of Oregon Cities, the Association of Oregon Counties and the Oregon School Board's Association lease, TRAN and pension bond programs. Ms. Sherman has been listed in every edition of Best Lawyers in America since 2007 and was the 2009 recipient of the Oregon Municipal Finance Officers Association Outstanding Contribution to Public Finance Award.
Ms. McCoog has served as bond counsel to a wide range of Oregon cities, counties, school districts, special districts, urban renewal agencies, state agencies, and conduit issuance programs. She also has worked as underwriter’s counsel on a variety of public financings. Ms. McCoog currently serves as the Chair of the Oregon Municipal Debt Advisory Commission and Vice Chair of the Securities and Disclosure Section of the National Association of Bond Lawyers. She is listed in the Public Finance Law section of the Best Lawyers in America and was recognized in the Portland Business Journal’s 2010 Forty Under 40.
Ms. Córdova has acted as tax counsel in connection with a variety of public financings, including capital project and tax and revenue anticipation financings for governmental entities, pooled financings, financings for nonprofit organizations, and small issue manufacturing and exempt facility financings. She has also represented issuers and conduit borrowers in connection with bond audits and other proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service. Ms. Córdova has been named a Rising Star in the Oregon Super Lawyers list.
Ms. Uğur has served as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel and bank counsel on a wide variety of credit structures. She has primarily represented Oregon cities, counties, special districts, and people’s utility districts. She also has a particular interest in urban renewal financings. Ms. Uğur has been named a Rising Star in the Oregon Super Lawyers list.
Hawkins is one of the municipal industry’s more storied law firms. Founded in 1854, the firm gained a reputation in the 19th Century for specialized expertise in the area of governmental finance. The firm continues to break new ground for its clients in finance transactions, including public power, transportation, housing, health care, higher education, student loans, cultural institutions and public contract representation, including public/private partnerships. Hawkins participated in the transaction which received The Bond Buyer’s 2011 Nontraditional Financing Transaction Deal of the Year award and also worked on several prior Deal of the Year transactions.