Widely Recognized Multifamily Bond Finance Attorney Joins Dinsmore’s Public Finance Group
National law firm Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is pleased to welcome partner R. Wade Norris, a highly regarded authority in multifamily housing bond finance, to the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Wade brings nearly five decades of experience and innovation in affordable housing finance, having played a pivotal role in thousands of transactions totaling billions of dollars across all 50 states.
Throughout his career, Wade has been at the forefront of developing new financing structures and public-private partnerships. He played a major role in creating HUD’s 11(b) refunding program, served as HUD’s private consultant on bond refunding policy and advised on the disposition of HUD’s multifamily mortgage portfolio. Wade was also one of the principal architects in the creation of the country’s leading bank private multifamily private placement programs, the Freddie Mac multifamily Tax Exempt Loan (or “TEL”) structure, Fannie Mae’s M.TEBs structure and other leading multifamily tax exempt debt financing structures.
After nearly a decade as a managing member of a boutique firm he helped form, Wade looks forward to tapping into Dinsmore’s coast-to-coast roster of attorneys who are easily accessible to him and his clients in the finance industry.
“We interact with, and rely on, bond counsel for a lot of the substantive legal analysis that goes into the structuring of the deals,” said Wade. “When we’re developing new structures with our underwriter clients, we often encounter federal tax law issues and having colleagues that we can call on when we’re developing these new structures is a huge asset for the clients we serve.”
“Wade is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading professionals in multifamily finance,” said Dinsmore’s public finance practice group chair Lewis Diaz. “His vast experience will immediately bring value to the financial institutions that Dinsmore serves.”
Wade’s son, Reginald “Reggie” Norris will also be joining the Firm’s public finance practice, as associate of counsel based in Dinsmore’s Denver office. Public financial analysts Melissa Harvison and Quinn Bero join Wade and Reggie in the move. The team has deep experience in the 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, a vital tool for financing affordable housing. They specialize in structuring tax-exempt private activity bond transactions that qualify for the 4% LIHTC, helping developers and housing authorities maximize equity and minimize financing costs. Their work includes navigating complex federal tax regulations, coordinating with underwriters and bond counsel and crafting innovative structures that align with evolving market and regulatory conditions.
“There's no secret that that there is an affordable housing crisis in the United States,” adds Wade. “We've always taken great satisfaction from the fact that we know what our clients and we are doing in these financings is addressing and providing a critical social need.”
Wade has a B.A. in Economics from Duke University, where was student body president in his senior year, an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Duke Law Journal. He is a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Bond Lawyers and American College of Bond Counsel.