Sharpton

Blake Sharpton is the Assistant Practice Group Leader for Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets Group. He focuses his practice on public finance, commercial lending and debt financing, and economic development projects. He represents school districts, cities, counties, development authorities, educational institutions, and underwriters across Georgia and other states. Blake has extensive experience serving as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, bank counsel, borrower’s counsel, and underwriter’s counsel on a wide variety of tax-exempt and taxable bond transactions. Blake focuses primarily on traditional municipal finance projects such as new educational and general municipal facilities. Blake also routinely works on economic impact projects and transactions such as sports stadiums, entertainment venues, multi-use developments, multi-family housing developments, retail developments, hotels, and airports.

• Economic Development
• Governmental Finance
• Hospital & Healthcare Finance
• Housing Finance
• Public Finance
• Public Finance Tax
• Public-Private Partnerships & Public Facilities
• State & Local Tax
• Charter School Financing

On an annual basis, Blake is involved in millions of dollars of public finance transactions. Known for creativity and an efficient approach, Blake’s clients appreciate practical advice that leads to a desired outcome involving new school buildings, athletic facilities, equipment financings, sports stadiums, entertainment venues, downtown revitalization projects, hotels, housing, general local governmental infrastructure, healthcare facilities, student housing, student activity, water and wastewater facilities

Complementary to his core practice, Blake is also able to provide his clients guidance on liquidity facilities, election law matters, open meetings and open records act issues, construction issues, and municipal and school law issues.

Blake also represents banks and other financial institutions in connection with direct purchases of tax-exempt bonds in connection with tax-exempt transactions.

Representative Transactions

• Bond and Disclosure Counsel for the construction of SunTrust Park, the new home of the Atlanta Braves, located in Cobb County, GA. https://www.butlersnow.com/2015/09/cobb-county-ga-butler-snow-close-bond-transaction-new-atlanta-braves-stadium/
• Bond and Disclosure counsel for the development of The Grove at Towne Center in Snellville, GA. https://www.snellville.org/grove-towne-center
• Bond and Issuer Counsel for Hotel 45. https://www.choateco.com/project/hotel-45/
• Bond and Disclosure Counsel for the development of Dempsey Apartments by the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority. https://www.41nbc.com/dempsey-apartments-local-management-uda-purchases-building/

• The Legal 500 US
  • Recognized in the editorial for nationwide Finance: Project Finance, 2024
• Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Public Finance (Georgia), 2024
• Martindale-Hubbell®
  • AV®-Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated, 2011-2022
• Georgia Trend
  • Legal Elite – Public Finance, 2015, 2020
• Acquisition International Magazine
  • Georgia’s Legal Elite, 2017

• Georgia, 2006
• U.S. District Courts
• Georgia: Northern
• U.S. Court of Appeals
• 11th Circuit
• Supreme Court of the State of Georgia

• Mercer University, J.D., magna cum laude, 2006
  • Mercer Law Review
  • Brainerd Currie Honor Society
• University of Georgia, B.B.S., Finance and M.I.S., 1998

• Macon Bar Association
• State Bar of Georgia
  • Leadership Academy, 2009
• National Association of Bond Lawyers
  • Securities Law and Disclosure Ad Hoc Subcommittee
    • Co-Chair
• American Bar Association

• Speaker, "Investing in Rural Infrastructure Development," CDFA Intro Rural Development Finance Course, August 4, 2022.
• Presenter, "Using Incentives for Economic Development," UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Tifton, Georgia, March 4, 2022.
• Presenter, "Development Authority Training - Basic," UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government, 2021, 2022.
• Co-Presenter, “Leveraging of Federal and Local Resources for Public Health Infrastructure in a Rural Health District in Georgia,” Georgia Public Health Association’s 90th Annual Meeting and Conference, Atlanta, Ga., May 8, 2019.
• Panelist Chair, “16th Annual Tax and Securities Law Institute,” TSLI 2018 Panel, Arizona, February 22-23, 2018.
• Speaker, “Tax Law Changes Under the Tax Cuts and Job Act,” JDAMA in Atlanta RE, Atlanta, Georgia, January 9, 2017. 
• Speaker, “Financing Brownfields With Private Activity Bonds,” Brownfields Financing Webinar Series, Webinar, March 9, 2017.
• Co-Author, "Duties of Non-Solicitor Municipal Advisors," National Association of Bond Lawyers Comments on MSRB Rule 9-42.
• Author, "Infrastructure and Energy Session," Moderator at CDFA – GA Roundtable, June 4, 2014.
• Author, "Municipal Advisor on the Roof," City of Dunwoody Accounting Conference, May 22, 2014.
• Author, "Securing Real Estate Related Collateral: Negotiated Promissory Notes, Etc." ICLE – Real Property law Institute, May 15 – 17, 2014.
• Author, "Preparing to Deliver the Bond Opinion: Tax Due Diligence and Documentation Issues," NABL, September 25, 2013. 
• Author, "The pain of sequestration is about to hit home," Macon Telegraph, August 11, 2013. 
• Author, "Bonds as the Bedrock of Development Finance," CDFA, June 4, 2013. 
• Author, "Unlocking the Development Finance Toolbox in Georgia," CDFA, February 20, 2013. 
• Author, "Municipal Bond Tax Exemption is Worth Saving," Macon Telegraph, November 25, 2012.
• Author, "Comments of the National Association of Bond Lawyers regarding Project No. 13-3 Preliminary Views of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board on major issues related to Economic Condition Reporting: Financial Projects."

• Macon Symphony Orchestra, Past President
• Macon Civic Club
• Mulberry Street United Methodist Church