William C. Rhodes leads the firm's Education Industry Group and Municipal Recovery Initiative and co-leads the Buyside Representations Team. Bill regularly represents issuers, broker-dealers, and investors in all areas of public finance, with an emphasis on the offering of high-yield (unrated) municipal securities.
Bill represents clients in the financing of public infrastructure, transportation, project financing, economic development, and public purpose facilities for governments and their authorities. His clients also include public and private secondary schools, colleges, and universities; health care systems; cultural institutions; and municipal- and investor-owned water, wastewater, and energy utilities. He also has extensive experience in affordable housing, including single-family mortgage finance and multifamily, military, and senior housing projects.
Bill regularly advises issuers, underwriters, municipal advisers, and investors in the evolving landscape of municipal securities regulation and enforcement, including regulatory compliance, primary and secondary market disclosures, and enforcement actions.
Services
- Finance
- Public Finance
- Municipal Recovery
- Municipal Securities Regulation and Enforcement
- Energy
- Exempt Organizations
- Health Care
- Health Care Finance
- Education
- Housing Bonds
- Infrastructure
- Housing
- Securities and Capital Markets
- Bankruptcy, Creditors' Rights, and Restructuring
- Climate Change and Sustainability
- Banking and Financial Services
- Bioenergy and Biomanufacturing
- Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
- Housing Finance
- Project Finance
- Distressed Assets and Opportunities
- Agribusiness
- Corporate Trust Services
- Buyside Representations
Professional Highlights
Professional Activities
Colorado Bar Association
Philadelphia Bar Association
National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL)
Pennsylvania Association of Bond Lawyers (PABL)
Recognition & Accomplishments
Chambers USA, Public Finance (Pennsylvania), 2024
The Legal 500 US, finance – municipal bankruptcy, 2012-2016, 2018-2024
The Best Lawyers in America, public finance law, 2015-2020, 2022-2025; economic development law, 2023-2025; project finance law, 2023, 2024; Lawyer of the Year, public finance law, 2022
Philadelphia Business Journal, 'Best of the Bar,' 2022
Speaking Engagements
Bill is a frequent speaker and presenter on panels focused on legal issues in the municipal bond market. Recent speaking engagements include:
Co-Chair, 12th Annual Green Infrastructure Conference, October 30, 2024
Panelist, "How Deals Evolve From Conception to Execution in the Project Finance Space," Smith's High-Yield Municipal Bond Conference, October 28-30, 2024
Co-Chair, 11th Annual Green Infrastructure Conference, October 25, 2023
Board Memberships & Community Service
Pennsylvania Economy League, Inc., Board Member
Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, LLC, Board Member
Past board member and former President, Elfreth's Alley Association, a 501(c)(3) corporation that preserves and interprets Elfreth's Alley, the nation's oldest continuous residential street and a National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia
Publications
Co-author, "White Paper: Cybersecurity Disclosure in Municipal Offerings," October 2019
Co-author, "White Paper: Climate Change Disclosure in Municipal Offerings," October 2019
Co-author, "General Obligation Bonds: State Law, Bankruptcy and Disclosure Considerations," National Association of Bond Lawyers, August 2014
Co-author, "SEC Fraud Charges against Harrisburg Have Implications for Secondary Market Disclosures," Westlaw Journal / Securities Litigation & Regulation, May 29, 2013
Co-author, "Options for Pennsylvania Cities and Municipalities in Financial Distress," Municipal Reporter, December 5, 2012
Credentials
Education
Dickinson School of Law of Pennsylvania State University (J.D. 1991)
Member, Dickinson Law Review
Swarthmore College (B.A. 1987, cum laude)
Admissions
Colorado
Pennsylvania