William H. McBride

With over 40 years of experience, and as the senior partner in the firm’s public finance practice, Wally is a trusted advisor for states and other large clients providing counsel on their tax-exempt transactions. Wally is highly regarded for his securities law disclosure knowledge and his work with complicated trust agreement matters, primarily acting as bond counsel or tax counsel reviewing arbitrage and other matters. He has particular experience in swaps and derivatives, indenture covenants, permissible amendments and restructurings, bondholder approvals and legal challenges to indenture provisions.

Wally has been the senior firm attorney responsible for more than 500 bond counsel and tax counsel representations of which the following are especially notable:

• Smallest Tax-Exempt: $10,000 Town of Newland, North Carolina Waste Water Treatment Bonds
• Largest Taxable: $223,875,000 Carolina Corrections, LLC Taxable Bonds, Series 2001 Select Auction Variable Rate Securities (SAVRS) (State of North Carolina Correctional Facilities Projects)
• Derivatives: $675,395,000 State of North Carolina Swap/Swaption, March 2005 – followed by termination with funding through $701,925,000 State of North Carolina General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2013C and D
• Tender Offer: $200,000,000 Covenant Health (Tennessee) tender for outstanding Auction Rate Securities

Wally frequently contributes to comments by the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) on Internal Revenue Service proposed regulations, including on Circular 230, Preparer Penalties, Private Activity Regulations, Credit Bond Structures and Arbitrage, and authors numerous area outlines for presentations at the Bond Attorney Workshop and NABL Seminars. He regularly speaks at meetings or seminars hosted by NABL, the North Carolina Institute of Government, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (County Attorneys), the North Carolina Association of County Finance Officers, the Southern Municipal Finance Analysts Association, the Southeastern Securities Transfer Association, the Government Finance Officers Association, The Bond Buyer and the Bond Market Association.

Prior to joining the firm, Wally was a Sergeant in the US Army from 1970 through 1973, serving with Military Intelligence in Bangkok, Thailand.

• Disclosure counsel to State of North Carolina
• Bond counsel to State of North Carolina Turnpike Authority and the North Carolina Department of Transportation
• Acted as tax counsel to State of Connecticut general obligation issues aggregating over $13 billion in tax-exempt debt.
• Acted as expert witness on indenture covenants in Canadian court ($2 billion in Bell Canada debentures at issue) (2007).
• Acted as part of advisory team for Guam Utility (Water) privatization (2005).
• Acted as underwriter’s counsel (Bear Stearns) for $1 billion water and sewer refinancing for City of Atlanta (1999).
• Acted as bond counsel for District of Columbia financing of $500 million nonprofit hospital merger (1998).
• Acted as expert witness for Bank of America in connection with suit for unpaid funds held under municipal bond indentures - the representation required the assessment of in excess of 200 indentures (1998).
• Helped obtain Federal District Court (NY) temporary restraining order against a tender offer in connection with the proposed amendment of a corporate indenture with less than a unanimous bondholder vote (1999).
• Counseled (1994-present) bond trustee for largest taxable municipal bond issue ($400 million) put into default by California’s Executive Life Insurance Company insolvency, including advising on litigation in several courts, over 50 notices to bondholders, bondholder meetings and various other matters, with expected recovery of at least $0.97 for each $1.00 outstanding upon default. Also helped the same client with a large tax-exempt multifamily housing bond workout resulting from the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company of New Jersey insolvency.
• Obtained private letter rulings for airports, "two county" utility systems and others on bond financing matters.
• Maintains active sports arena financing practice with bond deals done for the RBC (now PNC) Center in Raleigh, NC (NCSU Wolfpack and Carolina Hurricanes), Cumberland County Civic Center and Philips Arena in Atlanta (Atlanta Hawks).

• Selected as a Super Lawyer for Government Finance Law, North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine, 2006-2009, 2011-2019
• Selected as a Best Lawyer in Public Finance Law, North Carolina, The Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2024
• The Frederick O. Keil Distinguished Service Award, National Association of Bond Lawyers, 2009

• President, 1995-1996; President-Elect, 1994-1995, Secretary, 1993-1994; Immediate Past President, 1996-1997; Director, 1987-1988 and 1991-1997; Chairman, Education Committee, 1985-1987; Vice Chairman, Arbitrage Committee 1984-1985; National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) 
• Business Law Section; Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities; Liaison Subcommittee with State Bar Associations (North Carolina representative); Subcommittee on State and Local Government Obligations; Subcommittee on Uncertificated Debt Securities, American Bar Association, 1990-2010
• Listed in American College of Bond Counsel (first North Carolina member)
• Chairman of the Board, WakeMed Hospitals, 2014-2015, Board member, 2005-2015