Given the increase in the attention by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to the municipal bond industry in recent years, it is essential for issuers to understand the requirements of the SEC and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) as they affect municipal transactions. GHJ attorneys work closely with our clients to keep them abreast of these requirements, particularly in the areas in which the SEC has focused its regulatory and enforcement activities.
We have significant experience assisting issuers in fulfilling their disclosure obligations. We have been drafting offering documents for decades, and our formats have evolved to meet increasingly rigorous requirements. While compliance is important, we never lose track of the “big-picture credit story” that investors will look for before purchasing a debt obligation. Our approach focuses on helping our clients develop careful and reasonable processes for preparing and reviewing their documents. We prepare disclosure training materials and conduct disclosure training sessions, and we have been engaged to provide post-issuance disclosure advice in circumstances where disclosure may have been inadequate. We are also familiar with state securities laws, commonly known as “blue sky laws.”
Representative engagements:
- GHJ has served as sole disclosure counsel to the City of Savannah, Georgia since 2012, giving the firm the distinction of being the first minority-owned firm to serve in such a capacity in the history of the City. In this role, we have prepared offering documents for multiple issuances by the City, its water and sewer system and several affiliated authorities.
- The firm has served in the role of co-disclosure counsel for the City of Chicago on multiple issuances since 2014.
- GHJ has served as underwriter’s counsel and co-underwriter’s counsel for multiple issuances in New York since 2011.