Miller, Richard J.

Richard J. Miller

Of Counsel
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Rick Miller is a highly regarded corporate, securities and public finance lawyer and bond counsel concentrating his practice in the areas of corporate, securities law, municipal and project finance, public private partnerships, interest rate swaps and other derivative products. Most projects involve large infrastructure financing, from airports, seaports and water, sewer and environmental systems to tollways, courthouses and professional sports facilities and arenas. Rick has many years of experience in all types of taxable and tax-exempt municipal financings.

 

Rick Miller is a highly regarded corporate, securities and public finance lawyer and bond counsel concentrating his practice in the areas of corporate, securities law, municipal and project finance, public private partnerships, interest rate swaps and other derivative products. Most projects involve large infrastructure financing, from airports, seaports and water, sewer and environmental systems to tollways, courthouses and professional sports facilities and arenas. Rick has many years of experience in all types of taxable and tax-exempt municipal financings.

As exemplary clients in Florida, he serves as bond counsel to Palm Beach County and its Solid Waste Authority, Broward County and Miami-Dade County and its Housing Finance, Educational and Industrial Development Authorities, among others, and disclosure counsel to Broward County, and to the City of Pensacola and the Seacoast Utility Authority. In Illinois, he has served as bond counsel or disclosure counsel to DuPage County, the Village of Bolingbrook, and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, among others, and in Tennessee, to the City of Memphis, Shelby County, the Memphis & Shelby County Port Authority and the Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority.

Important recognitions for his work include the highest awards by The Bond Buyer, the municipal finance trade publication, for client the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County and its “Deal of the Year for the Southeast Region” for the novel $340 million crossover refunding, taxable to tax-exempt, and in 2006 to South Florida Water Management District “National Deal of the Year Award” for the Everglades Clean-up, the first such financing employing lease financing for environmental purposes, through an initial $600 million bond issue.

Rick’s major sports arena and facilities financings include the FedEx Forum for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, the Ball Park of the Palm Beaches, the new spring training facility and stadium for the recent World Series Champions, the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals, the Roger Dean Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins, the Miami Marlins Stadium and the Broward Civic Arena.

Rick’s served as bond counsel for nearly $1 billion in courthouse financing, in Broward, Hillsborough (Tampa), Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties, FL, in DuPage County, IL, and in Shelby County (Memphis), TN. He also serves as bond counsel to the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County, which has issued over $1 billion in bonds for its highly efficient and award-winning waste-to-energy plants.

Rick has worked as bond counsel or disclosure counsel for all the major Florida airports, including Miami International, Orlando International, Palm Beach International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and in Tennessee for the Memphis International Airport and Nashville International Airport and in Hawaii for the Honolulu International Airport, and also for the major seaports, such as Port Everglades, Port Miami, Port of Palm Beach and Port of Memphis, TN.

Rick’s representative experience includes:

  • $ 1.8 billion validation of Certificates of Participation for South Florida Water Management District in connection with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project
  • Served as bond counsel to the Memphis and Shelby County Port Commission, in connection with inter-governmental financing support for the new large Electrolux manufacturing facility recently located in the Port of Memphis
  • Served as bond counsel to Florida cities and towns, including Lake Worth, the Town of Palm Beach and the City of Punta Gorda
  • Served as bond counsel to the State of Tennessee and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
  • Serves as underwriter's counsel, bank counsel and securities’ counsel to major underwriters and banks, including Citigroup, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley
  • Served as transactional counsel in connection with the privatization of the City of Vero Beach, Florida Electric Utility
  • Represents Digital Assurance Certification, Inc. (DAC), on its client contracts and securities law disclosure advice. DAC is the leading dissemination agent and service provider for municipal post issuance securities law and tax compliance services, serving municipal market participants
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CREDENTIALS
Education
  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 1971
  • A.B., University of North Carolina, 1968
Bar Admissions
  • New York
  • Florida
  • Illinois
  • Texas
Professional Affiliations
    • Member, Florida Bar Association
    • Member, Illinois Bar Association
    • Member, New York Bar Association
    • Member, Texas Bar Association
    • Member, National Association of Bond Lawyers
    • Member, Government Finance Officers Association
    • Fellow, American College of Bond Counsel
Awards & Recognitions
    • Named, The Best Lawyers in America®, Public Finance Law (2013-2025)
    • Peer Rating of “AV Preeminent” for Legal Ability and Ethical Standards, Martindale-Hubbell® (2021)
    • Recognized, Southeast Region Deal of the Year, The Bond Buyer (2019)
Community Leadership
    • Chair, Finance Committee, Palm Beach County School District
Professional History
    • Of Counsel, Locke Lord LLP
    • Partner, Locke Lord LLP
    • Partner-in-Charge, Florida Office, New York-Based Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon
    • First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Reserves (1971-1979)