C. Willis Ritter is a Partner and Co-Chair of the firm's Public Finance Group. Mr. Ritter's legal practice has focused for over 35 years on financial and federal tax aspects of municipal finance. He was the original 1969 author of the federal tax laws and regulations on tax-exempt bonds, created the very successful State & Local Government Bond Series (“SLGS”) program for the Bureau of Public Debt, and is a founding member of the American College of Bond Counsel. He has written and lectured extensively on legal aspects of government finance. In 2004, he became one of only eight recipients of NABL’s Distinguished Service Award.

Over his 35-year career, Mr. Ritter has acted as counsel in respect to approximately 1200 separate public finance transactions totaling over $50 billion in aggregate principal amount. None of his legal opinions has ever been challenged by any governmental agency. He has worked closely with issuers, law firms, and investment banking clients throughout the country to develop a number of widely known legal and financing techniques in the area of public finance. These include development of Capital Appreciation Bonds (also known as “zero coupon municipals”); Taxable Defeasances; Tender Option Bonds and Municipal Derivatives; and Grantor Trust Pooled Lease Financing.

From 1998 through 2002, Mr. Ritter served as a pro bono legal consultant to the United States Agency for International Development (US AID) and the United Nations. In 2001- 2002, he acted as Chief Legal Adviser to establish the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mr. Ritter maintains an active public finance practice. He is currently special counsel to several large bond issuers, including inter alia the Capital Trust Agency and the Georgia Municipal Association; and served as Swap Counsel to the State of Illinois on its first $600 million Swap in 2003. He has successfully represented issuers of over $2 billion in tax-exempt bonds under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. He is a past Chairman of the National Association of Bond Lawyers’ Special Task Forces on modifications to the SLGS Regulation in 2005, and on Tax aspects of Municipal Derivatives in 2006.

Mr. Ritter earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia . He is admitted to practice in Maryland , District of Columbia , U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court. TRANSACTIONAL and PUBLIC FINANCE