Cohen & Grigsby Ranks As State's Second Busiest Bond Counsel

April 24, 2002

PITTSBURGH - Cohen & Grigsby, P.C., a downtown Pittsburgh-based international law firm, served as bond counsel on $606.4 million of municipal bond issues last year, the second most in Pennsylvania. Cohen & Grigsby also served as underwriter's counsel, borrower's counsel and letter of credit bank counsel on other tax-exempt bond issues, but they are not included in the total.

The ranking comes from the industry trade publication, The Bond Buyer (www.bondbuyer.com). Cohen & Grigsby is the only law firm in Western Pennsylvania to crack the top five in 2000. For the firm, it is the second time in four years it has placed highly on the prestigious list, placing fifth in 1997.

Cohen & Grigsby's entire Public Finance Practice Group is listed in The Bond Buyer's Municipal Marketplace, commonly known as The Red Book, an industry "who's who" of bond counsel and underwriters. Those attorneys include Charles R. Brodbeck, James D. Chiafullo, Patrick S. Healy, Christopher J. Rayl, Evans Rose, Jr., Maureen R. Jordan and Kelly R. Vehec.

According to Chuck Brodbeck, former president of Cohen & Grigsby and the head of its public finance practice group, most of the firm's bond deals were for Western Pennsylvania issuers, including Allegheny County, health care and other charitable organizations, universities, and school districts. The group has been prominent in Western Pennsylvania bond issues for over 10 years.

Cohen & Grigsby has emerged as a leading bond counsel firm over the past several years. Now in its 20th year, the firm served as co-bond counsel for the $874 million Regional Destination Financing Plan (Plan B). Cohen & Grigsby has participated in a number of financings which were the first of their kind, including the funding of the City's Economic Development Fund with proceeds from funds backed by a portion of the City's Regional Asset District receipts and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's issuance of Oil Franchise Tax Bonds to finance a portion of the Mon Valley Expressway.

More Tax-Free Bonds in Offing
Municipal bonds are issued primarily by government organizations – state, county, local and school districts, Brodbeck said. "The interest on these bonds is exempt from Federal taxes," he said. "Consequently buyers of the bonds are willing to accept a lower interest rate, making the bonds a relatively inexpensive source of funds for those governmental bodies."

Brodbeck also believes this low-cost source of financing can benefit nonprofit organizations, such as universities, hospitals, nursing homes and local recreational and cultural organizations. "Any 501(c) (3) organization which has a significant capital project (in excess of $2 or 3 million) should consider tax-exempt bonds," Brodbeck said, noting that the Pittsburgh Zoo, certain projects funded by the United Jewish Federation's Renaissance Campaign and many other charitable organizations have taken advantage of this low-cost source of funds. "There also is a large potential for small manufacturing companies to benefit from tax-exempt bonds," Brodbeck said.