David H. Barnes
Shareholder

Biography

David Barnes is a shareholder and former two-term President of the firm who focuses his practice in the areas of public finance and healthcare.  As the chair of the firm’s public finance practice group and as a certified Bond Buyer bond lawyer, David has acted as bond counsel to many New Hampshire cities, all of the State’s counties and the vast majority of towns, school districts and village districts who have sold their general obligation bonds and notes publicly or placed their obligations privately with the New Hampshire Municipal Bond Bank, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Division and with numerous national, regional and community financial institutions.  David also frequently serves as bond counsel to the Business Finance Authority of the State of New Hampshire in connection with qualified 501(c)(3) and small issue revenue bonds; and has acted as borrower’s counsel to many nonprofit schools and healthcare organizations who have issued revenue bonds through the New Hampshire Health and Education Facilities Authority, including Dartmouth-Hitchcock Obligated Group and the University System of New Hampshire. David also acts as underwriter’s counsel in both general obligation and revenue bond issues.

As a member of the firm’s healthcare practice group, David played a central role in the development, financing and construction of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire; and has been involved with affiliations and corporate reorganizations involving many nonprofit hospitals located in New Hampshire and Vermont.

EDUCATION:

• Cornell Law School, Juris Doctor (with Honors), 1977; Notes Editor, Cornell International Law Journal
• Trinity College, Bachelor of Arts (with Honors in History) 1973; Phi Beta Kappa; Pi Gamma Mu

Representative Matters

• Counsel to Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in connection with the planning, development, approval, construction and financing of an entirely new academic medical center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
• Counsel to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Alliance in connection with establishment of a new regional healthcare delivery system and corporate affiliation of the Alliance with in excess of ten hospitals and other healthcare organizations in New Hampshire and Vermont.
• Counsel to several New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts hospitals in connection with several hundred million dollars in tax exempt financings.
• Recent bond counsel engagements include Dresden School District ($37,775,000), Exeter Region School District ($42,695,000), Derry School District ($23,959,000) and Oyster River Cooperative School District ($20,406,711) as well as the large majority of bond issues financed through the New Hampshire Municipal Bond Bank and federal Rural Utilities Service (formerly Farmers Home Administration).
• Defense counsel in suits brought in state and federal court attacking the New Hampshire bond voting statute on constitutional grounds, including successful arguments before the New Hampshire Supreme Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Professional Affiliations

• New Hampshire Bar Association
• National Association of Bond Lawyers
• New Hampshire Government Finance Officers Association

Awards & Honors

• Recently recognized and ranked in Chambers USA 2011 as one of America's leading attorneys in Corporate/Commercial Law. (Previously ranked in 2009 - 2010)
• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012 in the field of Health Care Law (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). Recognized for 20 plus years.
• AV® Rating, the highest rating by Martindale-Hubbell.
• Named "Top Attorney" focused on Healthcare by New Hampshire Magazine.
• Recognized as a "New England Super Lawyer" in the practice area of Health Care Law, 2007 - 2011.

Speaking Engagements

• David has been a frequent speaker on a wide range of municipal finance topics including state law, federal tax law and securities law issues. He has participated in seminars sponsored by the New Hampshire Municipal Association, the Association of School Business Officers, the New Hampshire Association of Counties, the New Hampshire School Administrators Association and the New Hampshire Local Government Information Network.

Community Involvement

• Member and Former Chair, Board of Directors, Crotched Mountain Foundation, Greenfield, NH
• Board Member, Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation, Inc., Avon, CT
• Former Board Member and Chair, Bedford School Board, Bedford, NH

Bar Admissions

• New Hampshire