Barbara Adams upcoming move from the private sector to the public sector is going to mean a lot more driving.
The bond attorney now walks to her job at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia, but on June 1 she will start a new position as Pennsylvanias general counsel in Harrisburg, nearly two hours away. Adams, 53, will take an apartment in the capital while keeping her main residence in Philadelphia, where she lives with her three teenage daughters.
Her role as top legal adviser to Gov. Ed Rendell will be well worth the extra mileage, Adams said.
The job seems to be the synthesis of my entire career, Adams said.
Adams focuses on taxable and tax-exempt public finance at Duane Morris. She began her career with the firm as a summer associate in 1977. Adams was named partner in 1986 and was appointed head of the firms finance practice group in 2001.
During her tenure at Duane Morris, Adams has worked on many government bond sales, including acting as bond counsel for the commonwealth on a nearly $800 million refunding last September. In addition, Adams has represented university borrowers in deals with the Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities Authority and has represented underwriters in deals with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
Were excited I think the commonwealth is very fortunate to have someone of Barbaras experience and background, said Brian Hudson, executive director and chief executive of the state Housing Finance Agency, who has known Adams for more than 20 years.
In her new position, Adams will supervise more than 500 attorneys who represent 32 executive and independent agencies across the state. In this capacity, she will oversee the commonwealths bond issuance. Double-A-rated Pennsylvania usually goes to market with new money in the spring and fall, and a $200 million general obligation bond sale is expected in late May or early June.
Adams will also represent the commonwealth in issues that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the states Attorney General, such as certain violations of environmental regulations. In addition, she will provide legal advice to the governor.
Adams said she has long admired Rendell, who served as the mayor of Philadelphia from 1992 to 1999 before taking the governors office in January 2003. Adams also has a link to First Lady Marjorie O. Rendell, now a judge with the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, who worked at Duane Morris until the early 1990s.
Adams graduated from Temple University School of Law in 1978 after completing her undergraduate studies at Smith College in 1973.
