Vincent & Elkins Makes Two Public Finance Pros Partners

DALLAS — Vinson & Elkins attorneys Jonathan Leatherberry and Wendy Salinas, who specialize in public finance, have has been promoted to partner, the firm said yesterday.

Leatherberry, who represented Dallas County’s Parkland Hospital in last year’s issuance of $700 million of bonds to replace the outdated facility, and Salinas, a specialist in tax-exempt and taxable finance, are among eight new partners as of Jan. 1, according to the firm. Both will remain in the Dallas office.

The other new partners are: commercial and securities litigators Ari Berman in New York, Frank Brame in Dallas and Suzanne Reifman in Washington; capital markets and securities specialist Chris Schmitt in Austin; mergers and acquisitions specialist Stephen Gill in Houston; and Tonya Ramsey in restructuring and reorganization in Dallas.

Leatherberry has served as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriter’s counsel, and borrower’s counsel for hospitals, health care companies, and nonprofit entities in the issuance of more than $5 billion in tax-exempt bonds.

He also represented the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts in 2006 and 2008 in the issuance of $150 million to construct a new performing arts district in downtown Dallas.

The Parkland issuance of Build America Bonds was an historic achievement for the Dallas landmark, which serves as the county’s charity hospital and teaching institution for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. As bond counsel, the law firm played a major role in structuring the deal and working on details before voters approved the bonds in 2007.

Salinas also works on hospital deals, as well as those involving universities, cities, energy companies and hedge funds. She reviews, structures, and advises on tax-exempt bond transactions, including synthetic fixed-rate refundings and new money financings. She also advises borrowers and lenders on the tax implications of domestic and cross-border financing.

“These eight lawyers have already achieved tremendous success for their clients and in their careers, and we anticipate they will make major contributions to our profession, their clients, and their communities,” said Vinson & Elkins’ managing partner Joe Dilg.

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