Ice Miller LLP has served as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and special counsel to local governments since its founding in 1910.
Our attorneys have served as bond counsel to the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, as well as numerous counties, villages, cities, school districts, park districts, forest preserve districts and authorities located in Illinois. Each year, in our Illinois, Indiana and Ohio offices, we approve 330 to 400 long-term municipal financings with a total principal of up to $6.8 billion.
Our Illinois attorneys also regularly act in the capacity of disclosure counsel to hundreds of Illinois units of government and in the capacity of underwriter's counsel to most municipal bond underwriters. Ice Miller attorneys are prominent in national bond attorney groups such as the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the American College of Bond Counsel. In addition to holding leadership positions in professional organizations, Ice Miller bond lawyers regularly brief industry groups on contemporary issues, as well as serve as counsel to several of these organizations.
Firmwide, 30 lawyers, including Illinois lawyer Jim Snyder (29 years experience) has devoted his practice to municipal finance. Jim is joined by Bob Schillerstrom, Mark Huddle, Shelly Scinto, Austin Root, municipal disclosure administrator Kathy Thomas and paralegal Jenine Phillips to form our Illinois bond team.
Ice Miller has been ranked among national leaders in many types of government financings, including financings for schools, higher education, hospitals, infrastructure, cities and villages, and tax increment and economic development transactions.
According to the 2022 rankings in the Midwest by The Bond Buyer or according to the Thomson Reuters Annual Municipal Reports, Ice Miller's Illinois rankings are as follows:
- #1 in number of long-term bond issues as underwriter's counsel (2016-2018, 2021)
- #2 in number of long-term bond issues as underwriter's counsel (2019, 2020, 2022)
- #2 in number of general purpose bond issues as underwriter’s counsel (2020, 2022)
- #2 in number of long-term bond issues as bond counsel (2016-2022)
- #2 in number of long-term general purpose bond issues as bond counsel (2019-2022)
- #2 in number of long-term bond issues as disclosure counsel (2016-2022)
- #2 in number of long-term general purpose bond issues as disclosure counsel (2019, 2021, 2022)
We dedicate all resources necessary to provide our clients with timely, efficient and nationally recognized bond counsel services of the highest quality at reasonable costs. Our goal is to understand our clients' capital and financing needs and to assist them creatively to achieve their financing goals.