Public Finance
Shipman has extensive experience representing state and local government bond issuers, underwriters, borrowers and trustees in public finance transactions. Our lawyers have over 30 years of experience handling matters for these clients involving the issuance of general obligation and revenue bonds and notes, obligations under the State's Clean Water Fund Program, including drinking water grants and loans, grants and loans from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development for brownfield and other environmental remediation costs, and grant and loans from the Rural Development division of the United State Department of Agriculture for various municipal projects. In connection with these transactions, we have drafted and negotiated, among other things, bond, note and other loan agreements and documents, bond offering documents, trust indentures, lease purchase agreements, bond purchase agreements, security agreements, guarantees, swap agreements, letters of credit and reimbursement agreements.
We have also assisted clients with rating agency and bond insurance requirements and procedures, as well as compliance with continuing disclosure requirements for bond and note issues. We have represented parties in financings in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Shipman has been a nationally recognized bond counsel firm since 1984.
Bond Counsel
Our lawyers have served as Bond Counsel to the State of Connecticut and a number of Connecticut cities and towns. In providing such services we have gained extensive experience with the issuance and sale of general obligation and revenue bonds and bond anticipation notes sold on both a competitive and negotiated basis. Such issues have financed various public projects. We have handled pension obligation bonds, clean water fund loans, swap transactions and municipal leasing transactions for our municipal clients.
Presently, the firm is Bond Counsel to the Connecticut cities and towns of Bozrah, Brooklyn, Deep River, Enfield, Guilford, Manchester, New Britain, Norwalk, Old Saybrook, Portland, Preston, Seymour, Sherman, Stafford, Thomaston, West Hartford, Weston and Wolcott. We also serve as Bond Counsel to The Metropolitan District, Hartford County, Regional School District No. 8, the Harbor Point Infrastructure Improvement District (Stamford), and numerous beach associations, fire districts and special taxing districts in Connecticut.
We have served as Bond Counsel to the State Treasurer’s Office since 1994, and currently handle the Board of Regents for Higher Education (Connecticut State Universities and Community Technical Colleges) bonding programs, including the federal tax issues involved in these programs. We assisted in drafting legislation to enable the Higher Education system to implement a one-billion-dollar-multi-year infrastructure improvement program for their college and university campus facilities.
We also serve as Bond Counsel to the Connecticut Green Bank, the State quasi-public agency established to develop programs, support financing and stimulate demand for clean energy sources within Connecticut. We have assisted the Green Bank in financing projects under its Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, Solar Home Renewable Energy Credit (SHREC) program and other programs.
Shipman serves as Counsel to the developer of the Steel Point project in Bridgeport. In that capacity, we have drafted and negotiated financial assistance agreements with the Department of Economic and Community Development and Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated to provide project financing for the Bass Pro Shops facility that opened in 2015. We also serve as District Counsel to the Steel Point Infrastructure Improvement District in Bridgeport, where we have assisted in the formation, operation and future bond financing through tax increment financing bonds for the infrastructure improvements within the District.
Quasi-Governmental Entities
Shipman has been representing Connecticut governmental and quasi-public agencies for more than 40 years. The quasi-public agencies that we have represented at various times during that period include: the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA); the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA); Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated (CI); the Connecticut Green Bank; the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange (CHIE), the Connecticut Lottery Corporation and the former Connecticut Development Authority (CDA).
We are very familiar with the special legal requirements, and the related opinions and positions of the Office of the Attorney General, bearing on contract terms when the State or a quasi-public agency of the State is a party. We are also familiar with State contracting requirements relating to non-discrimination, set-asides, prevailing wage, campaign contributions, gifts and independent consultant requirements, and the applicability and non-applicability of those requirements to particular contracts or to particular parties. Finally, we are knowledgeable with respect to the Code of Ethics for Public Officials and the Freedom of Information Act, and regular advise State and local clients as to the applicability of particular Code of Ethics or FOI requirements, and the availability of exemptions and exceptions, that can be placed at issue in the context of public and private development agreements and projects.
Our environmental attorneys regularly represent public and quasi-public agencies on the local, state and federal levels with respect to a myriad of environmental issues, including in connection with the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties (“brownfields”), due diligence in purchase or sale transactions, as well as contracting, financing, permitting and enforcement matters. Unlike other firms our size, our environmental attorneys also have significant experience representing our public entity clients in connection with “legacy” matters such as asbestos, lead paint and air quality issues, and more recent matters such as PFAS and regulatory requirements for hockey rink operations.
The work we have done for our governmental and quasi-governmental clients includes:
- drafting of quasi-public agency and program legislation;
- drafting of bylaws;
- development of policies and procedures relating to personnel, contracting, procurement, bonding, financial assistance programs and other matters;
- formation of quasi-public agency subsidiaries, including most recently the formation of and drafting of organizational documents for CHEFA Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority established to access federal new market tax credit programs;
- development of personnel policies, employee handbooks, etc.;
- Freedom of Information Act compliance, including public meeting requirements and public records requirements and proceedings before the Freedom of Information Commission;
- Code of Ethics compliance, including requests for informal staff advisory opinions and formal ethics opinions;
- executive and incentive compensation arrangements, including tax issues raised by those arrangements;
- advice regarding the applicability of, and compliance with, Executive Orders of the Governor;
- negotiating and drafting office space leases;
- development of policies regarding the defense of claims against directors, officers and employees and the reimbursement of defense costs consistent with the statutory right of indemnity arising under Section 1-125 of the General Statutes and applicable Attorney General Opinions;
- compliance with statutory reporting requirements;
- advice regarding participation of quasi-public employees in the State Employee Retirement System and State benefit plans;
- consideration and advice concerning various Attorney General’s Opinions bearing on quasi-public agencies;
- advice on insurance matters, including directors and officers insurance for quasi-public agencies;
- advice on employment matters, including the defense of employment-related claims;
- real estate, finance and other transactional matters; and
- defense of lawsuits in the state and federal courts naming quasi-public agencies or quasi-public agency directors, officers or employees as defendants.
Underwriters' Counsel
We have served as underwriter’s counsel in general obligation and revenue bond issues for cities, towns and regional school districts and in revenue bond issues of various quasi-public agencies including the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority. Such revenue bond issues have included Section 501(c)(3) bonds issued to finance capital projects of colleges and universities, hospitals, assisted-living facilities and independent schools.
