Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has bolstered its New York bench with the hire of a pair of public finance lawyers from Orrick.  

Partner Alison Radecki has joined the top 20 US firm after nearly 25 years at Orrick alongside senior counsel Helen Pennock.  

Radecki is the third partner to join NRF’s New York office so far this year after restructuring specialist Robert Hirsch and IP lawyer Johanna Schmitt, who moved over from Lowenstein Sandler and Kirkland & Ellis respectively.  

NRF’s US managing partner, Jeff Cody, said: “Norton Rose Fulbright has enjoyed exciting growth this year, having now added five new partners in 2024, including several in New York. I’m pleased to welcome Alison and Helen to the firm, as the synergies between our public finance team and their practices will benefit our clients significantly.”

Radecki works with issuers and not-for-profit institutions to access the municipal bond market in the healthcare, cultural institution, higher education and charter school arenas. She also assists banks and financial institutions with providing accessible project capital and maintaining federal compliance. Her experience covers all financing structures, including variable rate debt, tax-exempt and taxable debt, general obligation and restructurings, among others.  

Meantime, Pennock has joined NRF after seven years at Orrick, where she became a partner a year ago, and earlier was an assistant counsel for New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Her practice includes serving as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, disclosure counsel or borrower’s counsel for financings on behalf of colleges and universities, cultural institutions and other not-for-profit corporations, water authorities and public power agencies, and transportation authorities as well as infrastructure and industrial development projects. She also focuses on securitisations of tobacco settlement revenues and other municipal receivables.

Radecki has joined NRF as the fifth partner in the public and government finance team in New York, where the firm has almost 100 partners in total.  

Meantime the firm’s well-regarded US public finance team has 60 lawyers across the US and is led by Dallas-based partner Paul Braden. The practice is noted by Chambers for its comprehensive offering, acting for issuers, borrowers and underwriters across a broad range of projects including healthcare, transportation and affordable housing.  

Braden said Radecki and Hennock were “respected lawyers with an impressive track record representing issuers and borrowers in 501(c)(3) financings, especially for nonprofit healthcare systems, higher educational institutions and charter schools”.

He added: “Our lawyers have known Alison and Helen for years, with many positive experiences of working together and across the table from them. They will be very valuable additions to our public finance team.”

The duo’s exit follows a five-partner team led by Rick Witte leaving Orrick in Houston last June to launch a public finance practice at Texas-founded law firm Jackson Walker. Orrick’s public finance team has more than 100 lawyers across the US, including 12 in New York, according to its website.  

An Orrick spokesperson commented: “We thank Alison and Helen for their contributions to our firm and wish them well.”