I have retired from the practice of law as of March, 2024.
I earned my B.A. (English) in 1981, my J.D. (with honors), in 1984 and my Ll.M. (Masters of Law) in Taxation in 1985 from the University of Florida.
I am a member of The Florida Bar, the Order of the Coif and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. I am also an Eagle Scout.
I have held an "A-V" rating from Martindale-Hubbell since before 2000. I have been listed in U.S. News' The Best Lawyers in America in the category of Public Finance Law each year since 2006, in U.S. News' Best Law Firms in America, in Law & Politics "Florida Super Lawyers," in South Florida Legal Guide's "Top Lawyers" and in Florida Trend's "Legal Elite."
My wife and I have been married since 1985, and we have three grown children.
Since 1985, I have practiced from offices in Palm Beach County exclusively in the areas of public finance and commercial lending. From 1985 to March, 2007, I practiced with Moyle, Flanigan, Katz, Raymond, White & Krasker, P.A. in West Palm Beach. I joined Holland & Knight in March, 2007, and in 2010 I left Holland & Knight to establish my own firm.
I have very diverse experience in all types of public finance and commercial lending structures and have represented clients as participants in virtually all roles in these transactions, including bond counsel, underwriter's counsel, borrower's counsel, issuer's counsel, lender's counsel, special tax counsel, trustee's counsel and credit-enhancer's counsel. My experience includes financings for housing, healthcare, primary and secondary education (both public and private), special assessment, leasing, manufacturing, solid waste (governmental and private), electric, water and wastewater utility, transportation, ports and airports and facilities for various social service and other charitable organizations. I am expert in a wide array of structures, including syndicated credits, asset-backed commercial financing, multi-modal variable rate bonds, commercial paper, pooled loan programs, certificates of participation (lease) structures and interest rate hedging devices. I have also regularly represented clients in bond validations, including one contested validation which was decided (in my client's favor) by the Florida Supreme Court (reversing a 47 year-old precedent).
Currently, I primarily represent commercial and investment banks in transactions throughout the southeastern United States, New England, and in California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona. The scope of my practice is illustrated by the fact that I have been consistently ranked in the top five law firms nationally in terms of the aggregate principal amount of tax-exempt bond direct bank placements in which I have represented the lending bank.
I have equally extensive experience in many types of commercial lending transactions, including secured and unsecured, real estate and asset-backed, construction loans and agented deals. To give some scale, while I represented a single national bank on 168 tax exempt transactions during 2007-2012, I also represented it in another 225 commercial loans in that same period.