Nixon Peabody LLP has elected Jeffrey Piemont as a partner in the law firm’s New York office. He assumed his new duties Wednesday.
Piemont, 54, represents a variety of issuers of tax-exempt bonds throughout the United States, as well as conduit borrowers.
Michael Vaccari, a partner and leader of the firm’s public finance practice, cited Piemont’s depth of knowledge in matters that pertain to Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 103 relates to the taxation of interest for state and local government bonds.
“He is one of the top 103 lawyers in the country,” Vaccari said. “This is quite a boost for us.”
Piemont has worked for the firm since 2001. In addition, he has known Nixon Peabody public finance partners Travis Gibbs and Mitchell Rapaport, who work in San Francisco and Washington, respectively, since the 1980s.
After he earned his law degree at Duke University, Piemont began his career in general practice before specializing in public finance. He was a tax partner for several years at Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon. He has also worked for Haythe & Curley LLP and Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP.
Piemont has been involved in financings for traditional governmental purposes, such as water, transportation and education, as well as private purposes, such as nonprofit hospitals, educational institutions and multifamily rental housing.
“The challenges keep coming,” said Piemont, from Summit, N.J. He has worked with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co., and several higher education borrowers.
“There are simple deals and there are complex deals,” Piemont said in an interview.
“There are all kinds of challenges. It’s a challenging market to issue refunding bonds. There are also a lot of enhanced inquiries from the [Internal Revenue Service], some of which are quite difficult to fathom. So what we have to do is get out ahead of the curve.”
Nixon Peabody’s public finance practice consists of about 40 attorneys, including five lawyers focusing on public tax matters. “People look to us for very complicated deals. Many lawyers can identify problems. We look for people in our tax group who are very capable at solving problems,” Vaccari said.
Piemont is admitted to the New York and California bars. He received psychology and accounting degrees from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and earned his master of laws degree at New York University.
