Robert Dawson Email & Phone Number

Rockville, Maryland, United States

I served as legal in-house counsel for the Arlington County government, a 4,000-employee organization with an annual budget exceeding $1.2 billion, on a broad spectrum of transactional related matters impacting the County's operations. I engaged, supervised and directed activities of outside counsel on matters related to tax-exempt bonds, the fiduciary duties and obligations of the Arlington County Retirement Board, and affordable and fair housing issues.Selected Accomplishments: Multifamily Housing Transactions. Structured, drafted and negotiated County loan and regulatory documents for approximately $250 million in County loans made from the County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund to housing developers as part of complex affordable housing transactions with multiple layers of financing to facilitate the acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing residential complexes in Arlington County. Single-Family Housing Transactions. Structured and drafted the County’s form loan and regulatory documents utilized by the Arlington County Housing Division for loans of up to $75,000 made to eligible first-time homebuyers and homeowners. Economic Development Transactions. Structured and drafted the County’s form economic development incentive agreements utilized by Arlington Economic Development to attract corporations to locate to Arlington County. Structured and drafted the financing and development agreement for the County’s $50 million public infrastructure improvements contribution for Ballston Quarter, a $330 million transformative mixed-use residential, shopping and entertainment development. Awards. In 2021, 2019 and 2018, awarded the Merit Award by the County Attorney for work related to the County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund. In 2015, awarded the Excellence Award by the County Manager as part of the County team that worked on the financing and development of Ballston Quarter.

Represented and advised public and private sector clients on complex transactions involving municipal finance, economic development, delinquent tax sales and collections, zoning and land use regulations and freedom of information act (FOIA) issues. Served as a panelist at conferences and seminars sponsored by the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties and the Virginia Local Government Attorneys Association.

Represented and advised the Mayor, City Council, the City Manager, and City Departments, Boards and Commissions on all legal matters impacting the business operations and activities of the City of Petersburg government, a 600-employee organization with an annual budget exceeding $100 million. Engaged, supervised and directed activities of legal staff and outside counsel.

Represented and advised public and private sector clients on a variety of tax-exempt financings, including general obligation bonds, current and advanced refunding bonds, industrial revenue bonds, and “subject to appropriation” financings for water and sewer and public-school facilities. Represented the interest of a large telecommunications company before local governing bodies in New Jersey and drafted and negotiated cable television franchise agreements.

Represented and advised issuers, underwriters and selling shareholders on a variety of public and private securities offerings, including initial public offerings, secondary and follow-on offerings, and Rule 144A offerings. Represented venture-backed companies, counseled entrepreneurs starting new businesses, advised on the formation of companies, equity structures, and negotiations with investors. Drafted and negotiated prospectus filings, disclosure schedules, underwriting agreements, confidential treatment requests, and merger agreements. Conducted and supervised due diligence projects.

Represented and advised issuers, underwriters, lenders and borrowers on a variety of tax-exempt financings involving governmental, exempt facility and nonprofit issuers. Advised financial institutions and other clients on the negotiation and execution of a wide range of derivative financial products (e.g. forward purchase agreements, repurchase agreements, interest rate swaps, and credit default swaps). Worked on general corporate matters, as assigned.

J.D., Law

Mpa, Public Administration

B.S., Management Science