Murray

Lesly is an experienced public finance attorney, focusing on municipal bonds, real estate and project finance, structured finance, and economic development incentives.

• Public Finance
• Public-Private Partnerships & Public Facilities
• Housing Finance
• Hospital & Healthcare Finance
• Governmental Finance

Lesley Murray is a member of the Public Finance, Tax Incentive and Credit Markets Group and has extensive experience serving as bond counsel, issuer's disclosure counsel and underwriter's counsel, and in particular has over 30 years’ experience in the areas of single-family and multifamily housing bonds. Ms. Murray has worked with the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority continuously since 1986 as either bond counsel, issuer's disclosure counsel or underwriter's counsel on both single-family and multifamily financings. She also has worked with local housing agencies, underwriters, 501(c)(3) and for-profit developers and other financing participants through the Southeast and other parts of the country on single-family, multifamily and governmental essential function housing projects. In addition to her focus on affordable housing financings, Ms. Murray has maintained a broad-based public finance practice working with governmental issuers, underwriters, project developers, credit and liquidity providers, private placement purchasers, corporate trustees, investment providers and other financial institutions on a wide variety of financings.

She is recognized by Best Lawyers in America. She obtained her J.D. from the University of Georgia and is admitted to the Georgia State Bar.

• Extensive experience serving as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, issuer’s disclosure counsel and special counsel to state and local governments and governmental issuers, as well as counsel to 501(c)(3) entities, project developers, private placement purchasers, corporate trustees and other participants in public finance transactions.
• Experience includes a broad cross section of short-term and long-term financing structures and security structures, taxable and tax exempt financings, general obligation and revenue bonds, tax anticipation and bond anticipation notes, equipment leases and project lease secured bonds, certificates of participation, senior and subordinate multi-tier security structures and multi-mode interest rate structures.
• Has served as bond counsel or underwriter’s counsel for financings of a variety of governmental facilities, public utilities, transportation projects, convention centers, sports facilities and arenas, economic development projects, public and private schools and universities, hospitals, single-family and multi-family housing and governmentally owned housing developments.
• Experience also includes a variety of current and advance refundings, restructuring transactions, workouts and change of use transactions.
• Representation as bond counsel and special counsel to state and local governments and governmental agencies and authorities also has included work on public private partnership projects, privatizing formerly governmental facilities, forming governmental instrumentalities, forming tax advantaged districts or zones and drafting governmental policies and legislation.    

• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Lawyer of the Year, Public Finance Law (Atlanta), 2021
  • Public Finance Law, 2015-2025

• Georgia, 1977

• University of Georgia, J.D., cum laude, 1977
  • Editorial Board, Georgia Law Review
• Vanderbilt University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1974
  • Phi Beta Kappa

• American Bar Association
  • Business Law Section
  • Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section
  • Taxation Section
  • State and Local Government Law Section
  • Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law
• National Association of Bond Lawyers
• State Bar of Georgia
  • Banking Law Section
  • Local Government Section
  • Real Property Section
  • Taxation Section
• Atlanta Bar Association
  • Business and Finance Section
  • Real Estate Law Section
  • Taxation Section

• Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Chair of the Board of Directors