Han C. Choi

Public Finance, Health Care, Higher Education, Housing, Korea, P3/Infrastructure, Securities, Transactional Finance

Han C. Choi is a partner in the Public Finance Department and a member of the Health Care, Housing, Higher Education, P3/Infrastructure, Securities, and Transactional Finance Groups, and the Korea Initiative. Mr. Choi practices primarily in the area of public finance. He has closed numerous public finance transactions for governmental bodies, financial institutions, purchasers, and trustees serving as bond counsel, underwriter's counsel, credit provider counsel, purchaser counsel, derivative counsel, trustee's counsel, and borrower's counsel in both governmental and private activity bond issues.

Mr. Choi has significant experience with variable-rate transactions involving direct purchases, letters of credit and stand-by bond purchase agreements. He is also well versed in fixed-rate, new money, and refunding transactions; derivatives; and post-issuance compliance issues, and he has represented several clients in tax controversies with the Internal Revenue Service.

Apart from his public finance work, Mr. Choi serves as counsel to emerging growth companies in technology and life sciences. He advises them on financing, corporate governance, contracting, securities, employment issues, joint ventures, intellectual property licensing and protection, and mergers and acquisitions. He also represents nonprofit organizations and assists them in nonprofit formation and governance, tax-exempt laws, and nonprofit fundraising and cause marketing issues.

Mr. Choi is a former special assistant to then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton.

Representative Matters

• Served as counsel to owners of a professional sports franchise for refinance of a major arena
• Served as underwriter's counsel for several general obligation issues of states
• Served as underwriter's counsel for large municipal airport transactions
• Served as bond counsel for municipalities in Georgia on general obligation and revenue bond issuances
• Represented major financial institutions in various private activity bond transactions
• Served as bond counsel for a large Georgia municipality in new money and refunding transactions
• Represented a digital signage company from startup venture to venture capital funding and sale to a third-party acquirer
• Represented a nonprofit entity in its acquisition of an online-based employment site for a nonprofit community
• Served as bond counsel for various Georgia cities regarding tax anticipation notes and leasing financings
• Served as underwriter's counsel to major investment banking firms in connection with various financings for issues in upstate South Carolina for tax increment financing districts, water and sewer systems, and parking facilities; transactions involved liquidity facilities and auction rate bonds
• Served as letter of credit, underwriter, trustee's, and purchaser's counsel to large commercial banks in variablerate bond issues in excess of $500 million throughout the United States in the past three years
• Developed in part the variable-rate bond forms currently in use by certain commercial banks and outside counsel for their tax-exempt and taxable bond transactions
• Served as bond counsel or underwriter's counsel for innovative installment purchase financings in excess of $550 million for a large school district
• Served as bond and company counsel for nonprofits for their exempt facilities financing
• Served as bond and underwriter's counsel to counties and cities in Georgia in connection with financing and refinancing of bonds for various governmental purposes secured by sales tax and ad valorem tax pledges
• Served as bond and underwriter's counsel in tax-exempt financings for water and sewer systems
• Served as credit enhancer's counsel for several multifamily bond transactions

Pro Bono Experience

College Football Hall of Fame, Atlanta

International Women's House

Professional Activities

American Bar Association

Atlanta Bar Association

National Association of Bond Lawyers

Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, past President

Georgia Asian Pacific Bar Association, past President

Georgia Center for Nonprofits, past Chair

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
At-Large Member, Board of Governors; 2011 Convention Host Committee Chair

Recognition & Accomplishments

Recipient, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association's Trailblazers Award

AV Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

Leadership Atlanta, 2001

Publications

"Redefining the Role of PPPs for U.S. Healthcare Infra," Infrastructure Journal, June 21, 2011

Speaking Engagements

Bond Attorneys Workshop, National Association of Bond Lawyers, 2009

Faculty, "Fundamentals of Municipal Bond Law," National Association of Bond Lawyers, 2007-2009

Panelist, Georgia Center for Non-Profits Summit, 2006

"Laws Relating to Fundraising and Managing Funds," Georgia Non-Profit Law Seminar, 2005

Panelist, "501(c)(3) Organizations," Bond Attorneys Workshop, National Association of Bond Lawyers, 2004

Board Memberships

Emory University School of Law, Advisory Board

Decatur Education Foundation 

Emory University School of Law (J.D. 1993, with honors)

Northwestern University (B.A. 1988, with honors)

Georgia