Richard S. Donoghue, Jr.

Richard S. Donoghue is a partner in the Austin office. Acting as bond counsel and disclosure counsel in connection with the issuance of public securities, he has represented numerous different types of issuers in a wide variety of new money and refunding transactions.

Richard has practiced law exclusively in public finance and began his career as an attorney in 1999 with McCall.

Highlights & Notable Transactions

• Representative clients include: university systems, state agencies, municipalities, river authorities, and water districts
• Served as bond counsel or underwriters’ counsel in financings for university systems totaling over 70 series of bonds in over $14.5 billion in principal amount
• Represented The University of Texas System (UT System) as bond counsel and disclosure counsel in connection with over $10 billion of bonds issued by the UT System with over $3.8 billion in notional amount of associated interest rate swap transactions (discussed further below)
• Represented the UT System in connection with the execution of 13 ISDA master swap agreements and over fifteen swap transactions under such agreements, totaling approximately $3.8 billion in notional amount
• Represented The Texas A&M University System (A&M System) in connection with approximately $1.9 billion of Revenue Financing System and Permanent University Fund bonds and in establishing the first commercial paper note program for issuance of short-term Permanent University Fund debt, including drafting all necessary agreements with the University of Texas Investment Management Company and the Comptroller of Public Accounts
• Served as underwriters’ counsel in connection with approximately $1.2 billion of additional Revenue Financing System and Permanent University Fund bonds issued by the A&M System
• Represented the Texas State University System as bond counsel, including in connection with the issuance of over $1.3 billion of Revenue Financing System bonds and the establishment of an ‘extendable’ commercial paper program for the system that does not require external liquidity support
• Restructured all $1.2 billion of the Lower Colorado River Authority’s then outstanding debt obligations into a new financing program
• Established the financing structure (including a conduit contract revenue commercial paper program) for the Lower Colorado River Authority’s electric transmission affiliate created to comply with deregulation of the State’s electric utility industry and the subsequent issuance of over $4 billion in debt under such structure
• Serves as the firm’s primary contact in representing the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as Bond Counsel including in connection with over $1.1 billion in principal amount of student loan bonds
• Part of the firm’s team of lawyers in the Austin office that represents the Texas Department of Transportation as bond counsel and/or disclosure counsel on its financing programs for the Mobility Fund Revenue Financing Program, the State Highway Fund, the Highway Improvement General Obligation Financing Program, and numerous toll road financings for the Central Texas Turnpike System, the Grand Parkway System and multiple private activity bond toll road transactions.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Member, State Bar of Texas

Member, National Association of Bond Lawyers

Regular Fellow, American College of Bond Counsel