Kutak Rock has promoted Omaha-based municipal finance partner John Petr to vice chair of the firm following David Amsden’s retirement.
Petr, who has been with Kutak Rock since 1987, said he is excited about serving the firm in the new role.
“My hope, and my expectation, is that our future will, in general terms, look very much like our past,” Petr said. “We will continue to grow with our existing clients and attract new clients by sharpening our focus on providing innovative, responsive client service at competitive prices while leveraging our national platform and our broad range of substantive expertise.”
Petr most recently served at the firm’s chair of the public finance department in Omaha. In that role he has represented issuers, credit enhancers, lenders and underwriters in connection with taxable and tax-exempt financings in the housing, military housing, higher education, electric energy and project finance sectors.
“Public finance (together with related areas, including tax credits and public-private partnerships) will continue to be growth areas for us for the foreseeable future,” Petr said. “We will continue to provide a full range of services to our public finance clients. We will, however, look for opportunities to work with our clients to find creative solutions to the problems of growing demand for public goods — including infrastructure, education and affordable housing — in resource-constrained environments.”
Jay Selanders, chair of Kutak Rock, praised Petr’s leadership abilities. “His high standards in his practice, along with his focus on client service, will bring a fresh, dynamic, innovative perspective as we continue to grow and better serve our clients,” Selanders said in a press release.
Amsden, who had been vice chair since 2016, announced his retirement earlier this year.
Headquartered in Omaha, Kutak Rock has as more than 525 attorneys in 18 offices around the country and 110 attorneys in its public finance practice. In the first half of 2019, the firm ranked third among bond counsel nationally and second in the Midwest, according to data provided by Refinitiv.
