People
William T. Conard II
Bill Conard is a partner in Bricker & Eckler's Public Finance group and practices in the areas of municipal finance, federal taxation and securities law. He regularly serves as bond counsel and underwriters' counsel in connection with bond issues for the State of Ohio and its agencies, as bond counsel on all types of municipal bond issues, and as underwriter or placement agent's counsel for all types of public finance transactions. Bill also often participates in higher education transactions for both public and private institutions.
Bill advises several Ohio municipalities regarding economic development programs and serves as tax counsel and underwriter's counsel on a variety of secondary offering and derivative products. In addition, he has served in several capacities in connection with various public and private partnership transactions. Bill is the author of Local Government Law - County, a Baldwin's Ohio Practice publication.
Bill is a frequent panelist at the Bond Attorneys' Workshop sponsored by the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL). Bill has also served on the faculty for NABL's Fundamentals of Bond Law seminar.
Experience
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Billion dollar borrowing program for The Ohio State University
Served as bond counsel for the issuance of two series aggregating $630 million in General Receipts Bonds of The Ohio State University issued as the first installment in a billion dollar borrowing program. The program is the first of its kind “shelf style” bond issuance for a public university. Responsibilities included drafting documents to reflect the understanding of the parties, as well as the tax analysis necessary with respect to the use of proceeds. As bond counsel, we rendered our approving opinion as to the authorization and valid issuance of the bonds.
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Bond counsel for community college district and state community college
Served as bond counsel on Ohio’s first voted bond issues for a community college district and a state community college.
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Bond counsel with county intercept
Served as bond counsel on Public Library Fund-backed library notes with county intercept. Assisted with private use analysis related to community fundraising campaign.
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Historic “Century Bond” issuance
Served as bond counsel to The Ohio State University on its $500,000,000 “Century Bond” offering, the first-ever 100-year maturity for a public university, issued to fund projects on the main campus.
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$218 million State of Ohio bond issuance
Served as bond counsel for the issuance of over $218 million in Major New State Infrastructure Project Revenue Bonds. Responsibilities included drafting documents to reflect the understanding of the parties, as well as the tax analysis necessary with respect to the use of proceeds. As bond counsel, we rendered our approving opinion as to the authorization and valid issuance of the bonds and their status of being exempt from federal income taxation.
Professional & Community Activities
- Member, American College of Bond Counsel
- Former national president, Otterbein College Alumni Association
- Treasurer, Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges
- Member, National Association of Bond Lawyers
Awards & Recognition
- Listed, Best Lawyers in America (Public Finance Law), 2005–2023
- Listed, Ohio Super Lawyers (Government Finance; Tax: Business; State, Local & Municipal; Securities & Corporate Finance), 2013, 2016–2020, 2023
- Ranked as AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
- Fellow, American College of Bond Counsel
Education
- The Ohio State University College of Law (J.D., with honors, 1983)
- Otterbein College (now Otterbein University) (B.A., with honors, 1980)
Insights
