Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP maintains three offices within California, which is the largest single commitment to a state by the Firm. Hawkins is consistently ranked among the top bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel firms in California. The Firm has participated in transactions as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, and underwriter’s counsel for the State and its departments and agencies and for local agencies, including counties, cities, redevelopment agencies and various special districts.

Our clients include: the State of California, the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, the California Department of Water Resources, the Counties of Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Alameda, Fresno, Humboldt, Kern, San Bernardino, San Diego, Solano, Sacramento, and Stanislaus, the Cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and Oakland, the County of Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the Sonoma County Water Agency.

The types of transactions we have been involved with include general governmental projects financed with general obligation bonds and lease-secured obligations, financings for nonprofit institutions, including health care organizations, cultural and charitable institutions and educational organizations, housing bonds, cash flow financings, revenue bond financings for water and wastewater facilities, tax increment financings, assessment and special tax financings and many other types of tax-exempt obligations. We have been involved in all financing structures utilized in this area, including all types of fixed rate bonds, commercial paper financings, variable rate bonds, swap transactions, auction rate securities and index notes.

Listed below are descriptions of certain of areas of the Firm’s California public finance practice.

General Obligation and General Fund Finance 
Hawkins has broad experience in California with a wide variety of projects for counties, cities and water districts and other special districts that utilize general obligation financing and certificates of participation and lease financing to finance capital facilities and equipment.

• In 2005, the Firm served as bond counsel to the City and County of San Francisco for its $230 million issue of general obligation bonds that financed the reconstruction of Laguna Honda Hospital, a city-owned long-term care facility.  The bonds were sold in three series as weekly variable rate demand obligations, together with a series of fixed rate bonds. 
• In 2004, the Firm acted as bond counsel to the State of California Public Works Board for its approximately $500 million Lease Revenue Bonds, issued in two series to finance the construction of a State hospital and higher education facilities.  
• The Firm has represented the Los Angeles County Capital Asset Leasing Corporation on several lease revenue financings through its Capital Asset Leasing Corporation.  

Pension Finance 
Hawkins has substantial experience in all facets of financings for pensions and other liabilities such as injury and unemployment insurance. Hawkins has participated as bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel for billions of dollars of such financings across the country and in California. Such financings include taxable and tax-exempt obligations.

• In 2004, the Firm acted as bond counsel and disclosure counsel to Fresno County in its $402 million Taxable Pension Obligation Bonds. The bonds were issued in two series, as fixed rate bonds and as auction rate bonds.  In 2002 the Firm acted as bond counsel and disclosure counsel to the County on its $117 million Taxable Pension Obligation Bonds.
• In 2004, the Firm served as underwriter’s counsel in connection with San Diego County’s $454 million Taxable Pension Obligation Bonds, issued in three series. The Firm also acted as underwriter’s counsel to the County in connection with its $737 million Taxable Pension Obligation Bonds, Series 2002.

Short-term and Cash Flow Borrowings
Hawkins has been involved in every aspect of short-term and cash flow financings for public entities and participated in the pioneering of many of the short-term financing structures in use today.  The Firm has acted as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel and disclosure counsel for several issuers in California with regard to tax and revenue anticipation notes, Teeter financings, and other short term borrowings, including issues for the Counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, Sacramento, Kern, Solano, Stanislaus and Fresno, the Cities of Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego and school districts throughout the State, including programs for school districts sponsored by the Los Angeles County Board of Education, the Orange County Board of Education, and the California Community College Financing Authority.

Water and Wastewater Projects and Other Revenue Bond Financings
The Firm's work within the State of California for water and wastewater projects includes our engagement as bond counsel to The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, disclosure counsel to Los Angeles County for the issuance of its general obligation refunding bonds for its Flood Control District, and bond counsel for the California Statewide Communities Development Authority's program of water and wastewater revenue bonds for cities and counties in the State. 

• In 2005, the Firm acted as underwriter’s counsel in connection with the County of Los Angeles Sanitation Authority’s $25.3 million Capital Projects Revenue Bonds.  In 2003, the Firm acted as disclosure counsel to the County in connection with its $444.8 million Capital Projects Revenue Bonds, 2003 Series A.
• In 2002, the Firm acted as bond counsel to the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank for the State Water Resources Control Board's initial issuance of $300 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund Revenue Bonds, to fund water loans through the State’s clean water program. This transaction was the initial issuance of the State’s leveraging program for its Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. 

Solid Waste Projects
Hawkins is among the leading law firms in the country in solid waste management legal services, based on our work over 25 years in providing consulting, negotiating, financing and environmental counsel services to municipal government and financial institution clients. We have participated in a central role in 58 completed transactions and waste management projects which are in operation or are under construction, involving approximately $3.1 billion in financings. The Firm’s practice in this field includes providing advice to municipal clients on the development of institutional, inter-municipal and contractual arrangements designed to meet State-mandated recycling and diversion requirements.

501(c)(3) Practice
The Firm has significant experience with tax-exempt bond issues for all kinds of 501(c)(3) organizations in California. These financings have included fixed rate bonds, variable rate bonds, and auction rate bonds and have utilized credit enhancement and liquidity support such as letters of credit, bond insurance and standby bond purchase agreements. Projects have included construction of new facilities, renovation of existing facilities and the purchase of equipment and financing of operating expenses during periods of development.

Our work as bond counsel includes transactions for Academy of Science of San Francisco, Berkeley Montessori School, Exploratorium Science Museum, John F. Kennedy University, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Marin Montessori School, Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Zoo, Southwestern Law School, United Way Silicon Valley, University of Southern California, and YMCA of San Francisco.  In addition, Hawkins has acted as underwriter’s counsel in connection with 501(c)(3) transactions for Stanford University, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Colburn School, Gallo Center for the Arts, Gemological Institute of America, Getty Trust, M.H. de Young Museum, Salvation Army, San Diego Children’s Museum, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, and the San Diego Zoo.  

• The Firm recently completed a transaction as bond counsel to the University of Southern California after a number of years of serving as underwriter's counsel on USC financings.  The transaction consisted of the issuance of $212 million of bonds in three series, including both fixed and variable rate bonds.  One of the series was issued and sold on a forward delivery basis.  The bonds financed both new educational facilities and refundings of existing bonds. 
• The Firm is bond counsel to the California Academy of Sciences (the "Academy") in connection with the Academy's $370 million project to rebuild its Natural History Museum, Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planetarium facilities located in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.  The Firm has assisted the Academy with analysis and advice with respect to fundraising pledges and thereby maximized the flexibility in the Academy's plan of finance.
• The Firm served as bond counsel to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art ("LACMA") for two issues of bonds in 2004: a $118 million issue of auction rate securities and a $57.6 million issue of weekly rate variable rate demand obligations.  As bond counsel, we advised LACMA on numerous complex tax issues regarding its pledges.
• The Firm has served as underwriter's counsel on four transactions for The J. Paul Getty Trust (the "Getty Trust"), totalling over $800 million.  The Firm assisted the Getty Trust and the underwriters with a number of challenging disclosure issues concerning the projects and the complex financing structures of these issues.
• The Firm served as bond counsel and disclosure counsel for Lick-Wilmerding High School.  This prominent San Francisco high school borrowed $20 million on a tax-exempt basis to finance a new technology and design center and other significant improvements to its campus. 

Redevelopment and Tax Allocation Financing
Hawkins has acted as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriter’s counsel and special tax counsel for numerous redevelopment agency bond issues, including tax allocation, economic development and single family and multifamily issues. The Firm’s tax department is thoroughly familiar with the specialized federal tax issues that arise in connection with tax increment financings and other redevelopment agency obligations, including matters concerning private uses of bond proceeds. This experience includes transactions for the redevelopment Agencies for such Cities as Alameda, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Hawthorne, and Los Angeles. 

• The Firm represented the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Authority with respect to the formation of its joint powers financing authority, which was created to provide the agency with increased flexibility in structuring tax increment financings.  The Firm has also acted as bond counsel in connection with various tax allocation financings, including the $23 million Hollywood Redevelopment Project Tax Allocation Bonds and the $14 million pooled financing bonds for the Normandi/5, Pico Union 1 and Pico Union 2 Redevelopment Projects.

Mello-Roos and Assessment Bonds
Hawkins has experience in the formation and financing of community facilities districts pursuant to the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 and other districts that impose assessments and special taxes. As bond counsel, we have assisted in all critical steps of the district formation process and conducting validation procedures.

Hawkins has acted as bond counsel to the County of Los Angeles in connection with the formation and financing of several community facilities districts. Hawkins also acted as bond counsel to the City of Los Angeles in connection with the issuance of 1911 Improvement Act Assessment Bonds to finance streetscape improvements in the City’s Westwood Village area.  In addition, the Firm has acted as bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel in connection with financings for the Cities of Cathedral City, Cypress, Manhattan Beach, and Tustin, and the City of Hawthorne Community Redevelopment Agency. 

Housing
Hawkins is active in representing the State and many of its local agencies in the housing finance area, including the California Department of Veterans Affairs, the City and County of San Francisco, the City of San Jose, the City of Los Angeles, City of Modesto, and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles.  The Firm also prepared the legal documentation to create and authorize the California Rural Home Mortgage Finance Authority, a joint powers authority consisting of twenty-two northern rural counties, created to assist them in financing a variety of governmental projects and a single-family first-time homebuyer program.

• Since 1996, the Firm has acted as Bond Counsel for the State’s Department of Veteran’s Affairs Home Purchase Revenue Bonds. The bonds are issued to finance the acquisition of residential property to be sold to eligible veterans under contracts of purchase between the Department and such veterans.  
• In 2004, the Firm acted as Bond Counsel to The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, California Agency for its $43 million Variable/Fixed Rate Demand Multifamily Housing Revenue Refunding Bonds and as Bond Counsel for the Agency in 2000 in connection with the Agency’s issuance of variable/fixed rate demand multifamily housing revenue refunding bonds for the Promenade Towers project.
• In 2003, the Firm acted as Bond Counsel for the City and County of San Francisco for its $17 million Single Family Mortgage Revenue Bonds.  For this transaction, the Firm developed an innovative financing structure that permitted the City and County to "recycle" existing volume cap through the use of a short-term facility, which permitted the issuance of new origination loans in tranches when the recycled bonds reached a critical mass.