General Corporate Law

Public Finance

Structured Finance

Telecommunications Law

Training and Development Committee, Chair

Recruiting Committee former, Member

Women's Initiative Steering Committee, former Member

Firm Governance Committee, former Member

Information Management and eDiscovery Practice Group, Co-Chair

Electronic Data Discovery Group, Founding Member

• New Jersey, 1987
• New York, 1994
• Kentucky, 2002

• Harvard Law School, J.D., 1984
  
• Griswold Scholar; Williston Competition Winner
• Oxford University, Exeter College, no degree
  
• English Speaking Union Scholar
• University of Kentucky, B.A., 1981
  
• with highest distinction
  
• Omicron Delta Kappa
  
• Phi Beta Kappa
  
• Otis A. Singletary Award
  
• Glamour Magazine Top 10 College Women

Bonita is admitted to practice in the states of New York, New Jersey and Kentucky. She practices general corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions and divestitures, and corporate, structured, and municipal finance law.  She also does telecommunications regulatory work. 

She is co-chair of the Firm's information management and e-Discovery practice group and founder of the Firm's electronic data discovery group.  She is chair of the Firm's training and development committee and the co-chair of Firm's diversity committee. She is a former member of the Firm's recruiting committee and women's initiative steering committee.  She is also a former member of the firm's governance committee.

Experience

Prior to joining the frim in February 2001, Bonita served as LG&E Energy Corp's (now E. ON-U.S. LLC) Senior Corporate Attorney responsible for finance and telecommunicatinos law since 1997.

While at LG&E, Bonita was involved in financings that include KU and LG&E First Mortgage Bond programs; Capital Corp.; KU and LG&E Medium Term Note programs; and Project Financings.

Before moving back to Kentucky, she practiced general corporate, public finance/municipal bond and corporate finance law in New York and New Jersey for approximately 13 years.

Transactions Bonita has handled include:

• Formation and corporate governance and compliance issues
• Municipal securities law, swaps and defaulted bonds
• General Corporate matters including mergers, acquisitions & divestitures
• Tax exempt financings
• Taxable financings
• Securitization transactions
• Registered securities financings
• Miscellaneous debt and equity offerings
• Synthetic leases
• Domestic and foreign derivative products
• Cross border lease transactions, and project financings.
• Multi-family and single-family housing transactions
• Health care, hospital and nursing home transactions
• New money transactions and refinancings
• Derivative products
• Counsel to credit enhancement providers
• Natural resources and energy law
• Disclosure issues, industrial development bonds
• Real estate finance
• Underwriter issues
• Trustee issues
• Bond counsel issues
• Governmental bonds
• Non-profit financings
• Bonds for universities and other educational facilities bonds
• Records Retention Planning and Management 

She has served as issuer’s counsel, company counsel, bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel and trustee’s counsel in transactions. She represented all major issuers, underwriters and many trustee banks while in New York State. Bonita has been counsel to international beverage and spirits companies, and counsel to international textile and clothing companies.  She served as secretary to a large public company in New York City.

• American Bar Association
• Kentucky Bar Association
• Louisville Bar Association
• New York State Bar Association
• New Jersey Bar Association
• Hispanic National Bar Association, Member
• National Association of Bond Lawyers, Member
• Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Municipal Affairs Committee and Housing & Urban Development Committee, Member
• New York County Lawyers Association, Member
• American Bar Association, Affordable Housing and Community Development Committee, and Committee on Taxation, Member
• Louisville Bar Association, Editorial Board Bar Briefs; Chair, Corporate Law Section 2009

• Make-A-Wish Foundation, 2007-Present, Governance Board, Regional Board for Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio; Secretary to Governance Board, 2008-2009
• St. Francis School,   Diversity Initiative; Member, Board of Trustees, 2009; Fiduicary Committee; Trustee/Governance Committee
• Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, 2001-2007,   Board of Directors, Co-Chairman - Nominating Committee, Member - Finance Committee
• Louisville Deaf Oral School, 2001-2007, Board of Directors
• Executive Institute, 2000, Graduate
• Louisville Christian Lawyers, Member
• Westport Road Church of Christ, 2001-Present, Chair - Benevolence Committee; Ladies & Children's Bible Class Teacher
• Community Foundation of Louisville, 2004-Present, Strategic Initiatives Committee Member; Board of Directors; Member of Executive Committee; Chair, Board Development Committee
• St. Matthews Area Ministries, 2004-2006, Board of Directors, Child Development Committee Member
• Alley Cat Advocates, Board of Directors
• Louisville Urban League, 2004-Present, Board of Directors; Administration Committee Member
• Hazelwood Health Initiative, 2004-2008, Board of Directors
• Commonwealth of Kentucky Council on Post Secondary Education, 2006, Board of Directors
• Kentucky Business Diversity Network, Steering Committee, Member
• U.S. Law Firm Group, Women's Committee, Member
• U.S. Law Firm Group, Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Member
• Who's Who in Latino Louisville, Board of Directors

Speaker:  LBA Public Finance

Speaker:  Lexis/Nexis Females and Rainmaking