KANSAS CITY (April 2024) — Lathrop GPM LLP has been named to The Bond Buyer’s 2023 “Top Five Rankings” for Bond Counsel in Missouri. The annual ranking is based on volume of work. “Bond Counsel” is defined as the attorney who is retained by the issuer but represents the interests of the bondholders. This attorney drafts and signs the sole legal opinion that the issuer is authorized to issue proposed municipal securities. During the reporting period, the bond counsel representing the firm in Missouri was Financial Services Partner Lori Lea Shelley.

A small sampling of Lathrop GPM’s 2023 public finance matters includes the representation of:

  • Lincoln County R-III School District of Troy, Missouri, in its $27 million General Obligations Bonds, Series 2023, as well as its issuance of $14.51 million General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2023A, which refinanced $14.85 million of the district’s callable 2019 General Obligation Bonds.
  • Grain Valley R-V School District of Jackson County, Missouri, in its $8.24 million General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2023, which refinanced $8.5 million of the district’s callable 2018 General Obligation Bonds and $22 million of its General Obligation Bonds, Series 2023A.
  • Genevieve County, Missouri, in its $4.53 million Lease Refunding Certificates of Participation, Series 2023, which refinanced $4.45 million of its Lease Certificates of Participation, Series 2018.

Lathrop GPM’s public finance attorneys not only serve as bond counsel, but also regularly serve across the country as disclosure counsel, underwriters’ counsel, issuer’s counsel, borrower’s counsel, bank counsel, special tax counsel and trustee’s counsel for school districts, higher education and other governmental issuers, special purpose entities, tax-exempt organizations and financial institutions. 

The Bond Buyer is the only independent information resource serving the entire municipal finance community. The Bond Buyer reaches more than 75,000 municipal finance professionals: issuers, government officials, investors — all players on the “deal team.” The Bond Buyer also offers in-depth education about cutting-edge public finance topics to Executive & Senior Management decision-makers.