HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – May 2, 2024 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A. Shareholder Melissa López Rogers, Of Counsel Niyala A. Harrison, and Shareholder Robert J. Downing will speak at the inaugural Southeast Bond Buyer Public Finance Conference taking place May 6-7 at The Diplomat Resort in Hollywood. Greenberg Traurig is sponsoring the event.
Rogers will deliver the opening remarks and speak on a panel, titled “Examining the Impact of Population and Business Growth in the Southeast Region (CPE).” The discussion will focus on how the Southeast states are expanding their infrastructure and addressing increased demand on services as people and businesses move in.
Harrison will moderate the “Financing the Building and Maintenance of the Climate-resilient Cities and Infrastructure (CPE)” panel, which will discuss sea-level rise, hurricanes/ tornadoes resilience and mitigation efforts. Additionally, the discussion will cover current and future efforts related to developing and retrofitting cities and infrastructure to meet the climate-related challenges of the future. The panel will also discuss the availability, or lack thereof, of property and flood insurance.
Downing will speak on a panel titled “Look at the Region’s Transportation Infrastructure: Use of P3s and the Growing Potential of EVs (CPE).” The panel will discuss the use of public-private partnerships (P3s), the electric vehicle industry’s growth, and the increased economic opportunities for issuers in the region.
Rogers focuses her practice on public finance, with an emphasis on disclosure and municipal securities issues, economic development, and public-private partnerships. She has served as disclosure counsel, bond counsel, underwriters' counsel, trustee's counsel, purchasers' counsel, lender's counsel, and borrower's counsel in connection with publicly and privately offered financings in a wide array of sectors, including general government, airports, higher education, community development districts, tax allocation districts, and water, sewer, and electric utilities.
Harrison focuses her practice on public infrastructure finance matters and securities law matters with a particular emphasis on tax-exempt and taxable bond financings, including new and refunding issues. She regularly serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter’s counsel representing cities, counties, school districts, governmental agencies and underwriters on public infrastructure finance transactions across various sectors including K-12 education, water, sewer and stormwater utilities, transportation, airports, toll roads, and community development districts.
Downing has more than 35 years’ experience in domestic and international business transactions. He focuses on corporate, mergers and, and finance matters, with an emphasis on energy, infrastructure, and project development. Downing began his legal career in New York City as a securities and mergers and acquisition attorney. More recently, he served as associate general counsel at Duke Energy International, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, the largest electric utility in the United States, and senior counsel at the Cisneros Group of companies.