Kostas Poulakidas has joined Greenberg Traurig's Chicago office as a shareholder.
Poulakidas will help build the firm's public finance and infrastructure practice as well as its government law and policy practice.
"It is part of the overall strategy," Franklin D.R. Jones, Jr., co-chair of the firm's public finance and infrastructure practice, told The Bond Buyer. "We have a big platform; we're looking for lawyers to fill in gaps we have in certain places.
"Chicago is a very important market for us, the state of Illinois is very important," he added. "We are trying to build more human infrastructure in that city, in that state, to do these types of (ambitious and complex) projects."
Jones said Poulakidas' experience with both public and project finance — including development work and complicated deals in the public-private partnership space — aligns well with the firm's growth strategy. Greenberg Traurig's public finance group works closely with its renewables practice, for example, and someone with Poulakidas' skill set could be instrumental in how the firm builds out those practice groups, he said.
"Private equity, private credit, M&A, healthcare, life sciences, real estate — all of these areas that our public finance and infrastructure practice touches, we're always looking for lawyers that can help put these pieces together," Jones said.
Poulakidas said he was drawn to the firm's influential role in the public finance and infrastructure space. Greenberg Traurig ranked seventh by par among bond counsel in 2024, according
"That's pretty attractive, to be part of a team that operates at that level," Poulakidas said. "As an attorney, just like in any profession, when you move forward in your profession, you want more challenging projects. And you want to use the knowledge that you've built up throughout your career to be creative, to find solutions to the most challenging questions.
"GT, it's that type of firm — that's the level that it operates at," he said.
Poulakidas comes to Greenberg Traurig from Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. Over the course of his career, he has advised clients ranging from municipal to state governments, startups to Fortune 500 companies, and real estate developers to private equity funds on innovative ways to structure transactions.
His expertise includes real estate development, infrastructure projects, P3s, tax increment financing and leveraging federal, state, and local incentives. Poulakidas is nationally recognized for his work on Opportunity Zone project financing, according to a press release from his new firm.
"Particularly on an economic development financing project, the bond component is just one part of the capital stack," Poulakidas told The Bond Buyer. "There might also be private equity, a lot of other types of things that I also work on."
He also served as chief of staff and senior advisor to the chief counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration, special assistant to Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, executive director of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and deputy commissioner of the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
For his public service, Poulakidas twice received the Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana's highest civilian honor.
"My career wasn't planned, it just kind of evolved this way," Poulakidas said. "Really understanding the inside of how government works, what they're thinking of and the policies that they have in mind — it's a lot different than if you're on the inside of a private sector company.
"I think having those kinds of experiences adds value for clients, and I'm glad to provide it, because I truly enjoy doing so," he said.
Poulakidas earned his bachelor's degree from Ball State University, a master's degree from American University's School of International Service, an MBA. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and his J.D. from Indiana University's Maurer School of Law.
Greenberg Traurig's Chicago office has grown to more than 180 attorneys since its launch 25 years ago. Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2,850 attorneys across 49 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.
