Joe has practiced exclusively in the areas of industrial development agency finance, public authority finance, and municipal and school district finance since graduating from law school in 1983.
Joe has acted as issuer's counsel, bond counsel, and underwriter's counsel on a variety of industrial development agency and public authority projects. Examples of industrial development agency projects handled by Joe include commercial, solid waste, manufacturing, co-generation, nonprofit, and recreational projects. Examples of public authority projects handled by Joe include housing projects, electrical distribution, hydro-electric, parking, water and sewer systems, airport, and residential mortgage projects.
In connection with municipal and school district finance, Joe has acted as bond counsel and underwriter’s counsel.
Over the past five years, Joe has been involved in the development and structuring of a number of capital projects with emphasis on creating a regional approach to the financing structure and on connecting public and private entities (i.e., private/public partnerships) to provide a regional public/private solution. Each situation has required an understanding of benefits and limitations of public finance under New York State law and the federal tax law, together with an awareness of what the private sector and private capital markets can provide.
Examples of techniques that Joe has used to address these situations include the creation of local development corporations, adoption of local laws or special legislation, preparation of inter-municipal cooperation agreements, and use of industrial development agencies.
Projects that have benefited from these techniques include industrial parks, incubator buildings, infrastructure projects, and a variety of large manufacturing and distribution facilities.
Representative Work
The following representative matters demonstrate capital projects handled by Joe and his fellow Hodgson Russ attorneys. Each matter presented financing challenges that required innovative and creative legal strategies.
Recognitions
- Listed, Best Lawyers in America (Public Finance Law) 2005 - 2025
News & Insights
Civic
- Co-chair, Parks & Trails New York board of directors
- Local Planning Committee (LPC) for the City of Albany Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI)
Professional
- National Association of Bond Lawyers
- New York State Economic Development Council
- New York State Bar Association Municipal Law and Tax Sections
- Co-chair, New York State Bar Association Municipal Law Section Legislation Committee
- New York State Bar Association Municipal Law Section Executive Committee
- New York State Government Finance Officers Association
- New York State Association of School Business Officials
- Panelist, Annual Bond Attorneys Workshop, sponsored by the National Association of Bond Lawyers
