Pullman & Comley Announces the Addition of Judith A. Blank, Glenn G. Rybacki and Teri McGehan to Public Finance Team
Attorneys Judith A. Blank and Glenn G. Rybacki and paralegal Teri McGehan have joined the Public Finance practice at Pullman & Comley, LLC, the law firm announced today.
At Pullman & Comley, the three will be part of a growing team that is well recognized both nationally and in Connecticut, where the firm is consistently ranked by the Bond Buyer among the top Connecticut-based bond counsel firms based on total debt issued in Connecticut. Pullman & Comley ranked first for Connecticut bond counsel in Bond Buyer’s 2020 year-end review, published on March 1, 2021.
“We are very pleased to welcome Judith, Glenn and Teri to our firm,” said John F. Stafstrom, co-chair of Pullman & Comley’s Public and Private Finance Department. “Both Judith and Glenn are highly respected public finance attorneys with long and deep service to Connecticut cities and towns and to public authorities. Their longtime paralegal, Teri McGehan, is a talented, well-recognized public finance professional. They will be a tremendous asset to our municipal clients and represent a strategic expansion of our growing public finance practice.”
Judith Blank practices in the area of state and local public finance, representing governmental agencies issuing general obligation and revenue bonds and representing borrowers, lenders, underwriters, trustees, and issuers of private activity bonds. Financings have included tax-exempt leases; variable-rate put bonds with swaps; Dutch-auction redemptions; advance refunding bonds with float contracts; and bonds backed with financial insurance, letters of credit, or standby purchase agreements.
Judith has also provided counsel to various Connecticut municipalities on non-financing matters ranging from election law and Freedom of Information Act compliance to tax levy and assessment matters. She counsels bond trustees on defaulted municipal and tribal bonds and has worked on restructuring distressed transactions. She has also provided advice to, or served as counsel to, the charter establishment or revision commissions in several Connecticut towns.
Judith received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Union College and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the Albany Law School of Union University. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York. Judith is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers; the Government Finance Officers Association of Connecticut; and the Governmental Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
Glenn Rybacki represents a variety of issuers of tax-exempt and taxable bonds as bond counsel and regularly represents underwriters, lenders, borrowers and trustees in all manners of debt transactions. He has served as bond counsel on general obligation bonds and notes, revenue bonds, refunding bonds, tax credit bonds, pension obligation bonds, clean water fund financings, and conduit borrowings. While Glenn provides counsel on all aspects of debt issuance, he focuses much of his practice on the federal tax aspects of tax-exempt, tax credit and other tax benefit bonds. He has prepared and advised on post-issuance tax compliance procedures for municipalities, state agencies and conduit borrowers, and regularly conducts compliance training seminars for municipal issuers and conduit borrowers. Glenn combines his experience as bond counsel with his experience as a state tax auditor to effectively and efficiently represent municipalities, conduit borrowers and other issuers before the Internal Revenue Service. At Pullman, he joins public finance tax attorneys Michael J. Andreana and Sandra D. Dawson, adding to an already significant strength in this area.
In addition to his public finance practice, Glenn has provided state and local tax advice and representation to a variety of clients, ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to start-ups. Before entering private practice, Glenn was a tax manager in the multistate practice group at Deloitte & Touche and a revenue examiner for the State of Connecticut Department of Revenue Services.
Glenn received his B.S. degree from Providence College and his J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York. Glenn is a member of the Business and Tax sections of the American Bar Association, Connecticut Bar Association, and New York State Bar Association; the Government Finance Officers Association of Connecticut; the Governmental Finance Officers Association of Connecticut; and the National Association of Bond Lawyers.
Teri McGehan has more than 20 years of experience working in public finance. She has worked with Connecticut towns and cities, the State of Connecticut, and Connecticut quasi-public agencies, assisting in the issuance of general obligation and revenue financings. Teri has extensive experience managing complex closings. Her responsibilities include preparation of project authorization proceedings; monitoring tax compliance and debt limit compliance; the drafting and review of Official Statements and other disclosure documents; and the drafting of closing documents.
Teri received her B.S. degree from the School of Management at Boston University and her Associate of Science Degree in Paralegal Studies from Endicott College. She is a member of the Paralegal Section of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the Government Finance Officers Association of Connecticut.
About Pullman & Comley, LLC
For nearly 75 years, the law firm of Pullman & Comley has provided bond counsel services to Connecticut governmental entities, including all sizes of municipalities, and has represented underwriters, credit enhancers, trustees, banks, borrowers in conduit financings and private individuals with whom governmental entities do business. Pullman & Comley is the recognized leader in Connecticut with respect to tax credit, tax increment, and P3 financings.
Pullman & Comley celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019 and is one of Connecticut’s largest firms, providing a wide range of legal services to clients in the New England region, as well as throughout the United States and internationally. In addition to public finance, Pullman & Comley’s major practice areas include business organizations and finance; environmental and land use; health care; labor, employment law and employee benefits; litigation and alternative dispute resolution; family law; property tax and valuation; real estate; regulatory, energy and telecommunications; and trusts and estates. The firm has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, Stamford, Waterbury and Westport Connecticut; Springfield, Massachusetts; and White Plains, New York. The firm is an active member of the Law Firm Alliance, an international affiliation of law firms. For more information, please visit www.pullcom.com.