Michigan-based Dykema Gossett Pllc elevated a member of its public finance practice, Jarrod Smith, to lead the 16-member team.
Jarrod joined the law firm in 2016 after serving as a Michigan assistant attorney general for more than a decade.
In that position, he acted as issuer’s counsel to the State of Michigan and its various authorities for numerous transactions representing billions of dollars in public finance transactions, the firm said in a statement.
With Dykema, “Smith’s experience includes some of the most complex public finance transactions in Michigan over the past several years — including the $3 billion Unemployment Obligation Assessment Revenue Bonds transaction, and a $288 million transaction that funded the completion of a large county criminal justice complex,” the firm said.
In his practice, he serves as bond counsel to the state of Michigan along with various state-related borrowing authorities and various municipal clients including the Detroit Downtown Development Authority and the city of Lansing.
Dykema has 16 attorneys in its public finance group located in Michigan offices in Lansing, Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, and Grand Rapids as well as offices in Chicago and San Antonio, firm officials said. Smith who earned a J.D., cum laude, and a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University practices in the firm’s Lansing office.
Jarrod is replacing Ann Fillingham who was promoted to serve as one of Dykema’s five department directors. Fillingham, who is president-elect of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, is director of the firm’s Regulated Industries Department.
The firm ranked fourth among bond counsel firms in Michigan last year, credited by Refinitiv with 18 deals valued at $727 million, according to data from Refinitiv.
The firm reports having served as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, purchaser’s counsel or issuer’s counsel on more than 230 transactions with a par value of more than $18 billion over the last five years.