David J. Stevens

Senior Counsel
David James Stevens

Overview

David Stevens is a senior counsel in Holland & Knight's Public Finance Practice Group where he advises local governments, conduit borrowers, credit and liquidity facility providers, and trustee banks in financial transactions involving state and local governmental entities, including in particular the issuance of taxable and tax-exempt bonds. Mr. Stevens has extensive experience with airport financings, as well as general fund, pollution control, school district and pooled financings in a variety of transaction structures, including traditional fixed rate bonds; auction rate bonds; variable rate demand bonds; current, advance and forward refunding bonds; synthetic fixed rate bonds; commercial paper programs; tax and revenue anticipation notes; letters of credit; interest rate swaps; and forward purchase and sale agreements. He has also worked as bond counsel, disclosure counsel or underwriter's counsel on more than $25 billion of municipal bond transactions and has participated in a number of complex public-private partnership transactions.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Stevens was a deputy city attorney with the San Francisco City Attorney's Office for 10 years where he advised the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on tax-exempt bond and finance matters, professional service contracts, airline terminal leases, government audits and revenue retention matters with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). While at the City Attorney's Office, Mr. Stevens drafted the 10-year master lease and use agreement between SFO and more than 40 airlines, and headed the airport's legal team in developing a luxury hotel at SFO. Prior to joining the City Attorney's Office, Mr. Stevens was a public finance attorney for more than 10 years with two large law firms in California and Utah where he represented governmental agencies as bond and disclosure counsel, and investment banks as underwriter's counsel in a wide variety of taxable and tax-exempt public finance transactions.

In the community, Mr. Stevens has been involved for many years with fundraising and leadership with the Boy Scouts of America and was recently awarded the 2015 Unit Scouter of the Year Award.

Credentials

Education
  • University of California, Berkeley School of Law, J.D.
  • Brigham Young University, B.A., Near Eastern Studies, magna cum laude
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • California
  • Georgia
  • Utah
Memberships
  • National Association of Bond Lawyers
Honors & Awards
  • Moot Court Commendation for Excellence in Advocacy, 1994

Publications

Speaking Engagements

News