Thomas E Griggs – Professional Profile

EDUCATION / ADMISSIONS / MEMBERSHIPS

Education

Juris Doctor, Marquette University Law School
Master’s Degree, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Urban Affairs
Bachelor of Arts, Ohio University

Admissions

Admitted to practice in Wisconsin – 1980

Memberships

National Association of Bond Lawyers
American Bar Association
State Bar of Wisconsin
Milwaukee Bar Association

Tom Griggs has focused his practice on providing bond counsel services to local units of government, from the beginning of his law practice in 1980 at the law firm of Mulcahy & Wherry, S.C., in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he practiced public finance law through 1990. From 1991 through April, 2013 he headed the public finance practice at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the lead bond counsel on virtually every local government bond transaction at Godfrey & Kahn during that time period including his service as lead bond counsel on the $175 million bond financing in 2001 for the renovation of Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.

On April 15, 2013, Tom transitioned his law practice to his new firm, Griggs Law Office LLC. In doing so, he joined a growing number of solo and boutique law firms around the country providing bond counsel services to local government clients.

At his new firm, Tom will continue to focus his practice on providing bond counsel services to Wisconsin local units of government (e.g., cities, villages, counties, school districts, metropolitan sewerage districts and technical colleges) particularly with respect to the issuance of general obligation debt. During his long career Tom has acted as sole bond counsel on well over one thousand municipal debt issues totaling in the billions of dollars. That experience has provided Tom with an intimate knowledge of the Wisconsin statutory procedures governing debt issuance and a solid familiarity with the federal tax issues that affect municipal finance transactions. Tom will bring that wealth of knowledge and experience to his new firm as he continues to serve the public finance needs of local units of government throughout Wisconsin including work with his school district clients on short-term cash flow borrowings as well as bond and revenue cap referendums.

Tom Griggs has been a student of public finance issues in Wisconsin his entire career as evidenced by his 1980 co-authoring of the Marquette Law Review article “Wisconsin Municipal Debt Finance: An Outlook for the Eighties.” He has been a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) throughout his career and had the privilege of participating in some of the early drafting sessions of the seminal work “The Function and Professional Responsibilities of Bond Counsel” first released by NABL in 1983.