Kutak Rock has added four veteran public finance attorneys and opened offices in Columbus and Cleveland, the firm said Tuesday.
Tony Core and Greg Daniels will join firm tax partner Matthias Edrich in Columbus, and Russ Balthis and Jessica Ice will lead the new office in Cleveland.
"One of the goals for the firm is to attract the best attorneys and staff that we can; and when there are opportunities, wherever they come up, we're happy to talk," Edrich told The Bond Buyer. "And that's what happened here."
The additions bring Kutak Rock's headcount to 600 attorneys nationwide.
"Expanding into Ohio represents an exciting new chapter for Kutak Rock," John Petr, chair of the firm, said in a statement. "This growth not only extends our geographic reach but also strengthens our ability to serve clients across the country.
"Kutak Rock continues to grow its leading national public finance practice, as evidenced by this expansion into Ohio and our addition of four public finance attorneys
Edrich noted that while the new offices are in Columbus and Cleveland, the firm works on deals across Ohio, including in Cincinnati and Akron.
Daniels has worked with local governments, developers, underwriters and bond investors, primarily on development projects.
"One of the reasons that I thought Kutak was a great fit was we're very aligned in that Kutak has a great national practice on development projects," he said. "Especially development districts and the types of clients involved in financings by development districts. … And so I really viewed it as an opportunity to expand what I had been doing in that area," with Kutak's resources and public finance and development focus.
Ice, who has been a practicing public finance attorney for nearly five years, said she was "excited to go to a firm where the key focus was public finance."
"I have done a variety of different types of roles within the public finance space, including but not limited to general obligation and airport revenue financings," she said. "I had the great opportunity to work with Greg, Tony and Russ in the economic development space and expand the Kutak footprint throughout Ohio."
Daniels said one reason the firm was interested in expanding into Ohio was the variety of opportunities there: Columbus and Cleveland exemplify that variety.
"Columbus has really been undergoing a lot of population growth and, with that, a lot of new greenfield development," Daniels said. "So from a public finance and infrastructure standpoint, there's a lot of really good, interesting projects (there)."
Cleveland, an older city, has not seen the same explosive growth, but has "a lot of really good, interesting urban redevelopment projects," he said. "Folks in the Cleveland area have very busy with such projects and additional redevelopment."
Both he and Ice have worked on similar redevelopment projects in recent years, he noted.
"They have a great practice," Edrich said of the new attorneys. "They're very adept at working with clients, and it just made sense for us to talk and get together and expand. It was a great opportunity, and it was because of them and their understanding of what's going on in Ohio that it made sense."
Kutak Rock now has 21 offices across 15 states and Washington, D.C. It ranked second among top bond counsel in the first half of 2025, with $19.37 billion in par amount and 7.05% market share, according to LSEG data.
