Cozen O'Connor, one of the law firms that represented the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in its winning case against the City of Harrisburg's bankruptcy petition, added a Midwest-based lawyer to its public finance team.
Gregory Tears, previously a partner with Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in Milwaukee, will join Cozen as a member in its New York office, the firm said in an announcement Sunday. Tears, who has experience as bond, borrower and underwriter's counsel, will expand Cozen's bond counsel practice into the Midwest.
"Given Greg's significant Midwest and Mid-Atlantic public finance experience, it made sense to bring him on board as the firm expands its presence in the Midwest," Suzanne Mayes, chair of the firm's public and project finance practice, said in an email.
Cozen O'Connor was a top 100 bond counsel firm in 2012, providing legal service to $813.2 million of deals by par amount. The firm was No. 16 in rankings for disclosure counsel in 2012, acting as counsel to $1.53 billion by par amount, and opened a Minneapolis office in June 2013.
"The public finance arena has become increasingly complex in recent years, and market turmoil has presented new challenges for entities looking to tap into these sources of funding," Mayes said.
Tears has worked on a public finance transactions ranging from general obligation bonds and tax anticipation notes to credit-enhanced obligations and interest rate swaps, Cozen said. The transactions have been across different sectors, including transportation, health care and higher education.
"Greg's experience adds expanded capabilities in Wisconsin and Illinois, and more depth to our practice in New York, New Jersey and other jurisdictions," Mayes said.
