Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP, a Milwaukee-based and minority-owned law firm, recently served as the sole underwriter’s counsel to a syndicate led by Barclay’s Capital Inc., in the sale of $1.52 billion in Wisconsin General Fund Annual Appropriation Bonds of 2009, Series A.
Proceeds of the bond sale will be used to address Wisconsin’s budget deficit. The transaction was the largest public finance transaction in which a minority-owned law firm acted as sole underwriter’s counsel.
For the first quarter of 2009, Gonzalez Saggion & Harlan was ranked the seventh largest bond underwriter’s counsel in the nation in terms of the dollar value of bonds underwritten. The firm ranked fourth in both Wisconsin and Illinois for the same period. The rankings were published by The Bond Buyer newsletter.
“Our role as sole underwriter’s counsel in the state of Wisconsin bond offering, coupled with our national and regional rankings, are an affirmation of the hard work we’ve done to win the confidence of bond issuers and underwriters as a leading law firm for public finance transactions of this magnitude and complexity,” said Jerry Gonzalez, managing partner for the firm.
Gonzalez Harlan & Saggio is now expanding its areas of practice to include Build America Bonds, created as part of the federal economic stimulus package. The bonds are intended to lower municipal borrowing costs.
The firm has also expanded its public finance group to 13. It has 90 attorneys in Milwaukee, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.
