WASHINGTON – The National Association of Bond Lawyers has announced the recipients of two annual awards that will be presented at its annual meeting in Chicago in October.
John Cross, associate tax legislative counsel for the Treasury Department, will receive the Bernard P. Friel Medal for distinguished service in public finance, the group said. The award was established in 1982 to honor NABL's first president.
Clifford Gerber, who will become NABL's president on Oct. 19 and is chair of the 2016 NABL awards committee, said in a news release announcing the awards that Cross deserved the medal.
"John is extraordinarily deserving of the Friel Award, which is for distinguished service in public finance," Gerber said. "The award reflects an individual who over a lifetime has contributed to the betterment of public finance, and there is little doubt that John Cross has done that in a most significant way."
Cross's career in public finance spans more than three decades. He worked in the Internal Revenue Service's chief counsel's office before joining Hawkins Delafield and Wood in 1993, where he continued his focus on munis and public finance.
He joined the Treasury Department in 2006 as its associate tax legislative counsel, where he was responsible for legislative, regulatory and budgetary tax matters affecting munis. He helped the muni market weather the Great Recession, particularly its impact on auction rate securities and muni money market funds. He played a key role in the development and implementation of the muni provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, including guidance on Build America Bonds.
Cross moved to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2012 to head the Office of Municipal Securities and oversaw development of the SEC's municipal advisor registration rule before returning to Treasury as associate tax legislative counsel in 2014.
"I have had the privilege of working with many wonderful people in the public finance community throughout my career, so it is especially gratifying to be recognized by my peers at NABL with the Friel award and I couldn't be more honored, appreciative, or humbled," Cross said Wednesday.
The Frederick O. Kiel Distinguished Service Award was given to Scott Lilienthal, a partner at Hogan Lovells in Washington and a former NABL president. The award recognizes extraordinary service to NABL over an extended period of time.
Gerber cited the numerous NABL projects Lilienthal has spearheaded as well as his time serving as chair of NABL conferences and most recently testifying on behalf of the organization before the Internal Revenue Service.
"Scott was an easy choice to receive the Kiel Award, which recognizes distinguished service to NABL over the course of a career," Gerber said. "Scott has been tireless in his dedication to the organization, including his service on the NABL board and as its president."
Lilienthal started his career at Miles and Stockbridge in Baltimore before moving to the IRS' chief counsel's office in 1990. Three years later, he joined Hogan and Hartson, which later merged with Lovells to become Hogan Lovells.
Lilienthal was a member of NABL's board of directors for nine years, and was the group's president from 2012-2013. He also was chair of the group's Education Committee and Tax Law Committee as well as chair and vice-chair of NABL's Washington Seminar.
Lilienthal said Wednesday that he was "very grateful" to have been chosen for the award.
"It means a lot to me," Lilienthal said. "NABL is a terrific organization and I am proud that I have been able to play a small part in some of its many achievements."
Cross also complimented Lilienthal, calling him a "wonderful lawyer and a prince of a person."
"I learned [this] early on while spearheading a team in the IRS Chief Counsel's office that completely re-wrote the arbitrage regulations in the early 1990s and Scott was a junior docket attorney in the IRS tax-exempt bond branch who quietly made a huge contribution to that effort with his exceptional writing and sound judgement," Cross added.
The 2016 NABL awards committee was comprised of Gerber; vice-chair Ken Artin, an attorney with Bryant Miller Olive in Orlando and current NABL president; Antonio Marini, a partner with Hinkley Allen in Boston; Linda Schakel, a partner with Ballard Spahr in Washington; and William Holby, a partner with King and Spalding in Atlanta.
The awards will be presented during NABL's annual membership meeting which take place during the 41st Bond Attorneys' Workshop in Chicago.
