The financing of public works through the issuance of municipal bonds is, under normal circumstances, a highly complex undertaking with many moving parts. But when the complexity reaches another level entirely — when the legal issues, debt structure, or sheer size of the transaction are particularly daunting — sophisticated issuers turn to Brian Forbath for innovative solutions.

Brian’s long record of success representing major issuers in California — cities, counties, school districts, and other government entities — puts him in the forefront of lawyers devoted exclusively to public finance. As such, he serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, and underwriter’s counsel in a wide range of public finance transactions. Clients rely on his strategic acumen to determine the optimal financial structure and to identify the best available revenue streams for every sort of public infrastructure project.

With a thorough grounding in federal securities law, Brian is an acknowledged leader in all manner of infrastructure funding, including land secured financing, utility revenue, general fund lease revenue, and the creative use of derivatives. Increasingly, he is called upon to assist in the financing of municipal sports facilities — stadiums and arenas — through a combination of public and private funding.

Representative matters include:

  • Tax allocation refunding bonds for the City of San Diego. In performing due diligence for the project, Brian and his team discovered an election made by the Redevelopment Agency that was inadvertently costing the City millions of dollars each year and which the current city administration had been unaware. The revocation of the resolution is expected  to reap more than $50 million over the next 15 years to the City.
  • The funding of a new stadium for the Oakland A’s baseball team. Brian has represented the Oakland A’s on bond related matters in their dual goals of acquiring the Oakland Coliseum Complex for redevelopment and the acquisition and development of a new stadium at Howard Terminal adjacent to the San Francisco Bay.
  • Inglewood Football Stadium for the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. Brian and his team have assisted the Kroenke Group in analyzing and developing public financing options for the development of the Rams and Chargers new stadium and surrounding development.  Brian previously assisted the Chargers on their attempts to develop stadium alternatives in the cities of Carson and San Diego.
  • Delta Conveyance Financing Authority. Brian has been named disclosure counsel to the Delta Conveyance Financing Authority, the entity driving the proposed $11 billion financing of a tunnel underneath the Sacramento River delta.
  • Tahoe Douglas Visitor Authority Event Center. Brian and his team assisted the TDVA in drafting and passing legislation for a new tourism surcharge on transient occupancies in Douglas County to assist in financing a 6,000 seat event center to revitalize occupancy rates in the Casino core around Lake Tahoe. The surcharge was approved by the Nevada legislature in 2019.  The complex financing will utitlize several sources of revenue including the surcharge, TDVA’s share of transient occupancy taxes and tax increment revenues.
  • Toll Roads. Brian and his team serve as bond and disclosure counsel  to the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency and the South San Joaquin Transportation Corridor Agency on several billion dollars of outstanding toll revenue bonds.

Credentials

Education
  • Loyola Law School, J.D., 1998
  • University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A., 1994
  • Orange County Bar Association
  • National Association of Bond Lawyers
  • Federal Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • California