Overview
Megan Martz Gilliland is a seasoned public finance attorney known for her strategic approach to complex financing transactions and her ability to provide practical, solutions-oriented guidance to a wide range of clients.
Megan is a Member in the firm's Corporate and Public Finance practice group based in the Richmond, Virginia office. She represents various state, local and regional public bodies and not-for-profit entities finance projects through public finance and municipal bond transactional structures, providing advice from early planning through closing and post-issuance compliance matters. Megan serves in a variety of roles, including bond counsel, borrower’s and general counsel, underwriters' counsel, issuer's counsel, lender's counsel, and trustee's counsel to a broad range of clients, including public bodies, not-for-profit entities, investment banks and banking institutions.
Megan’s practice spans the entire spectrum of public finance, including public sales (competitive and negotiated), limited offerings, and private, direct placement or bank loan transactions. She has significant experience with general obligation and revenue-backed bond credits, pooled financing structures, qualified private activity bonds, industrial/economic development authority conduit issuances, community development authority (CDA) financings, lease-revenue debt, bond anticipation notes (BANs), refundings, tenders, exchanges, and appropriation-backed or moral obligation credits. Megan regularly advises on project and infrastructure finance for general governmental, water and wastewater, transportation (including tax and toll-backed financings), higher education, healthcare, stadium, airport, and economic-development projects.
Through this experience, Megan has developed a sophisticated understanding of federal tax and securities laws, and state and local government law applicable to public finance, which allows him to ensure transactions meet applicable tax exemption requirements, comply with primary offering and continuing disclosure obligations, and are properly authorized. She counsels clients on all legal facets of a financing, beginning with the preparation or review, as necessary, of authorizing legislation and working with the bond issuer’s staff, financial advisor, general counsel and other members of the financing team to develop a sound transactional structure. Megan prepares and reviews authorizing documents and resolutions, security documents (such as trust indentures or loan agreements), and disclosure and offering documents (such as official statements) to identify tax and securities issues and strategies. She works efficiently to guide transactions through closing, conducting due diligence examinations and coordinating the completion of all necessary closing materials. After closing, Megan continues to work with her clients to ensure they remain in compliance with all applicable requirements.
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Representative Matters
Bond counsel to the Commonwealth of Virginia with respect to the issuance of its general obligation bond issuances financing billions of dollars in higher education capital projects
Bond counsel to the Virginia Public Building Authority with respect to the issuance of billions of dollars of public facilities revenue bonds, which have financed hundreds of capital projects for state agencies and other entities
Lender’s counsel to the Virginia Resources Authority with respect to its various state revolving loan fund transactions, including the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which respectively finance local and regional wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects
Bond counsel to regional transportation authorities, securing billions of dollars in transportation-related project financing, including closing multiples transactions to fund the $3.9 billion Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel expansion project, the largest public works project in Virginia’s history
Bond counsel to various regional and local government entities and 501(c)(3) organizations (including healthcare or continuing care organizations and private colleges/universities)
Bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel with respect to numerous higher education financings across a variety of structures
Bond counsel to various airport authorities for the issuance of airport revenue bonds
Closed numerous transactions through the pooled loan programs administered by the Virginia Resources Authority and the Virginia Public School Authority, and the private school financings for colleges/universities through the Virginia College Building Authority
Closed multiple Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans through the U.S. Department of Transportation secured by both regional taxes and toll revenues
Served in various general counsel roles, including for the Virginia Resources Authority
Served as underwriter’s counsel on various general governmental, water and sewer, transportation capital projects throughout the Commonwealth, including drafting disclosure documents for such financings
Served as placement agent’s counsel on various restructure and tender offerings
Recognition & Honors
Honors & Recognitions
Best Lawyers in America, 2022-2026
Influential Women of Virginia, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, 2023
Virginia’s Legal Elite; Virginia Business Magazine, 2022-2025
Virginia Rising Stars; Bonds/Government Finance, 2010-2020; Business/Corporate, 2009
Press & Publications
News
Community & Professional
Associations
Virginia Women in Public Finance; Executive Council, 2013-2019; President, 2016-2018
Virginia Bar Association
The Bar Association of the City of Richmond; Business Law Section, Chair, 2012-2013; Secretary, 2010-2011; Executive Committee, 2007-2017
National Association of Bond Lawyers
Local Government Attorneys Association
Credentials
Education
College of William & Mary; B.A., cum laude, 2002
University of Richmond School of Law; J.D., cum laude, 2005
Georgetown University Law Center; LL.M., with distinction, 2006
