Debt Management Best Practices
Issuer's Role in Selection of Underwriter's Counsel
Issuers should minimize their involvement in the selection of underwriters counsel. The role of the issuer should be to ensure that underwriters counsel is competent, has no conflicts of interest, and that costs are reasonable.
Types of Legal Counsel
Issuers should be aware of the different roles played by the types of counsel involved in a bond transaction.
Selecting and Managing Municipal Advisors
Issuers should hire a municipal advisor prior to the undertaking of a debt financing unless the issuer has sufficient in-house expertise and access to current bond market information, and issuers should select municipal advisors on the basis of merit using a competitive process and that issuers review those relationships periodically.
Selecting Bond Counsel
Issuers should select bond counsel on the basis of merit using a competitive process and review those relationships periodically.
Selecting and Managing Underwriters for Negotiated Bond Sales
Unless the issuer has sufficient in-house expertise and access to market information, it should hire an outside municipal advisor prior to undertaking a negotiated debt financing in order to assist the government with evaluating proposals from underwriters, selecting the underwriter(s) for the transaction, and executing the bond sale.