General Obligation Bonds

Overview

General Obligation Bonds, once the “safe bets” of the market, are now regarded with caution by investors and lenders—which is unsurprising, given recent well-publicized municipal bankruptcies. Going to market with these bonds requires a legal team that understands the rules and anticipates what’s coming next.

As bond counsel, we provide a full range of services, including:

• Examining applicable law
• Collaborating with issuer and financial advisors to structure financings
• Preparing authorizing resolutions
• Preparing the closing documents and notes or bonds
• Reviewing certified proceedings
• Rendering legal opinions on the authorization, issuance, and tax-exempt status of notes and bonds
• Preparing and filing any informational tax returns
• Ongoing consulting with the various parties to financing transactions, including day-to-day questions from municipal personnel on matters relating to existing or proposed issues

From authorizing resolutions and disclosure documents to escrow agreements, arbitrage certificates, and more, we keep our clients on track and up-to-date with the latest rules and regulations.

Representative Experience

• Experience in New York State: With firm origins in New York State and five offices across the state, we have particular experience in all areas of New York general obligation bond practice, including constitutional, statutory, and case law limitations imposed on New York municipalities in their issuance of debt.
• The County of Loudoun, Virginia: We have served as bond counsel on numerous transactions since 1999 for this county of approximately 420,000 residents. Our engagements have included issues of general obligation bonds, lease revenue bonds, participations in state pool financings, and transportation financings.
• The Village of Ilion, New York: We have served as bond counsel to the village since 2010, representing the client with various bond anticipation notes and bond issuances. In a recent bond issuance, we worked with local elected representatives to pass legislation permitting the village to finance certain items for periods longer than allowed by Section 11.00 of the Local Finance Law, giving the village additional time to repay the bonds and lessen the burden on the village’s constituents.
• The City of Plattsburgh, New York: We have served as bond counsel to the city for a number of years, representing in the issuance of various bond anticipation notes and bonds.
• The County of Seneca, New York: We have served as bond counsel to the county since 2005, representing various issuances of general obligation bonds and refunding bonds.

Recognition

• Nixon Peabody has been named a Tier 1 National firm for Public Finance Law in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms®.
• The Legal 500 United States 2024 editorial—ranked for Project finance - Infrastructure and PPP
• Ranked in Chambers USA for Public Finance—Nationwide and also in California, District of Columbia, Illinois, New York.
• Nixon Peabody was named by U.S. News/Best Lawyers® 2021 as “Law Firm of the Year” in Public Finance Law.
• Consistently ranked Top 10 in bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, disclosure counsel, special tax counsel, and green bond counsel by Thomson Reuters.