Representing clients on both public offerings and private placements, Brian advises a full range of participants in the municipal finance market, including state and local governments, underwriting firms, and conduit issuers. His experience includes drafting offering documents and negotiating debt instruments and credit agreements for all types of fixed rate, variable rate, and multi-modal financings. Brian is also involved with many of the firm’s transportation-related engagements.
Additionally, Brian advises clients on the federal securities laws, assisting clients with the development and implementation of disclosure policies and conducting the related securities law training sessions.
As the chief securities law partner for the firm, Brian is principally responsible for authoring client advisories, or “Hawkins Advisories,” describing and analyzing important SEC enforcement actions and other securities law regulatory and rulemaking matters. Hawkins Advisories are available here.
Brian is also a frequent speaker, panelist, and moderator of securities law presentations at industry conferences. In that connection, Brian has held prominent roles with the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL), including work with the Securities Law and Disclosure Committee (SLDC) where he acted as chair and vice-chair of the committee for over four years. During such time, Brian had a crucial role in steering the committee agenda and took an active role on several high-profile projects and meetings. Brian led several high-profile projects as part of the leadership of the SLDC, including NABL’s SEC Comment Letter on Climate Change Disclosure, the supplement to NABL’s Crafting Disclosure Policies, and NABL's “Analysis of SIFMA Model Memorandum to Underwriter's Counsel,” among others. Brian was also a key participant in NABL’s working group that released the paper titled “SEC Rule 15c2-12 Amendments NABL Member Questions and Practical Considerations.”
Professional Membership
- National Association of Bond Lawyers
Practices
Industries
Education
- Loyola College in Maryland, B.A., magna cum laude
- Pace University School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, Articles Editor, Pace Law Review
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- New York
- Maryland
Recent News & Publications
- Update on the Municipal Securities Market
This Hawkins Advisory provides an update on selected matters of interest to the municipal securities market and its participants. In p… - SEC Actions – Rule 15c2-12 Limited Offering Exemption
This Advisory examines how, for the first time, the SEC has brought charges against underwriters who fail to meet the legal requiremen… - Municipal Market — Federal Securities Law Update (2022)
This Hawkins Advisory provides an update on the municipal securities market and related federal securities law regulation. In particul… - Brian Garzione co-authored NABL’s SEC Comment Letter on Climate Change Disclosures
As the Chair of NABL’s Securities Law and Disclosure Committee, Brian was one of the principal authors of NABL’s comment letter re…