The National Association of Bond Lawyers has announced that two longtime NABL members – Meredith Hathorn and Charlie Henck – are slated to receive awards honoring their contributions to both NABL and the public finance world at NABL's upcoming annual conference.
Hathorn, a managing partner at Foley & Judell L.L.P., is to be
The awards will be presented during NABL's Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation, scheduled for day one of the conference. The conference, "The Workshop 2026," is set to be held from Oct. 14 to Oct. 16 in Chicago.
Hathorn served a four-year term on the NABL Board of Directors, which included time spent serving as secretary of the board, the announcement said. She has served on various NABL committees, helped to develop and publish Model Engagement Letters, and was appointed to the NABL TIFIA Task Force, the announcement said.
"It's an incredible honor," Hathorn, a NABL member since 1985, said in an interview Friday, when asked about her reaction to being selected to receive this year's Bernard P. Friel Medal.
Being a NABL member has been "a wonderful experience," she said, adding that she believes "the sharing of information" as well as the education and training "is just unparalleled."
"The insights, history, views and perspectives of other practitioners throughout the country in addressing the issues we have to deal with on bond issues is so very helpful and appreciated," Hathorn said.
Foley & Judell, a Louisiana firm with offices in New Orleans and Baton Rouge that is focused solely on public finance, has a long history of involvement with NABL, according to Hathorn. The late Bill Beck, who had been a partner at the firm, "participated in the early discussions about creating NABL," she said.
In addition, the late Harold Judell, who joined what is now known as Foley & Judell in 1950, was a past NABL president and in 2001 was awarded the Bernard P. Friel Medal. M. Jason Akers, who, like Hathorn, is currently a managing partner at Foley & Judell, is also a past president of NABL, she said.
In a statement provided to The Bond Buyer on Monday, Barnes & Thornburg's Henck said he is "genuinely honored" to be selected to receive the Frederick O. Kiel Distinguished Service Award.
"Fred Kiel spent 25 years as editor of The Bond Lawyer and served as NABL's fourth president, and his career is really a model for what long-term service to this organization looks like — showing up year after year, not for recognition, but because the work of keeping the municipal bond bar sharp and well-informed matters," Henck said in the statement. "To be associated with his name is humbling."
Henck joined NABL more than 40 years ago, he said. What's kept him engaged with the organization "is the same thing that drew me in originally: this is a small, collegial bar association where you actually get to know and learn from the members," he said.
In its announcement, NABL said Henck "has been an active voice in the regulatory development of public finance." Henck has chaired various NABL committees, including a working group that drafted comments on the Inflation Reduction Act, the announcement said.
"I've particularly enjoyed getting involved in some of NABL's advocacy and educational efforts, such as chairing the committee that dug into the Inflation Reduction Act, chairing the Bond Attorneys' Workshop, and – this won't surprise anyone who has worked with me – chairing the Solid Waste Task Force that helped forge needed revisions to regulations governing financing of solid waste facilities," Henck, who works out of Barnes & Thornburg's Washington, D.C. office, said in his statement.
NABL has given him "far more than" he's put into it, he said. It has provided him with "mentors, colleagues who've become friends, and a front-row seat to how this area of law has evolved," Henck said.
"I'm grateful to the organization and to everyone I've worked alongside over the years, and I intend to keep showing up," he said.
