Title: Partner
Firm: Bracewell LLP
Age: 36
Texas is one of the largest, most dynamic municipal markets in the country, with infrastructure needs to match. Sarah Tahir has spent her career meeting them.
Born and raised in Norway of Tanzanian heritage, Sarah found her way to public finance via a law school internship at the World Bank Group, where she worked on development finance. That experience showed her how capital markets could address critical infrastructure needs, a lesson she carried into her first public finance role in Texas. "The infrastructure needs in Texas are enormous, so it made sense to start a career here," Sarah says.
Today, Sarah is a partner in Bracewell's public finance practice where she has played a leading role in over $20 billion in financings for critical infrastructure projects, providing legal counsel to major airport systems, tollway authorities, cities and investment banks. These projects include airport construction, redevelopment and modernization; tollway extensions, widenings and refinancings; and convention center and venue financings.
In 2025, she served as disclosure counsel, along with Bracewell partner Julie Partain, on nearly $2 billion in bond issuances for DFW International Airport, supporting terminal expansions and construction. The deal won The Bond Buyer's Deal of the Year for the Southwest region.
"Sarah is a tremendously talented lawyer who thrives in complex financings," says Glenn Opel, chair of Bracewell's public finance department. "This recognition is well deserved, and we are proud to have her as a partner on our public finance team."
"I am drawn to the complexity of the work and being able to find practical solutions for clients," Sarah says. "Public finance appeals to me because of its core purpose of using capital markets for the public's benefit. That's a mission worth building a career around."
