Profile
Melissa López Rogers focuses her practice in the area of public finance, with an emphasis on disclosure and municipal securities issues, economic development, and public-private partnerships. She has served as disclosure counsel, bond counsel, underwriters' counsel, trustee's counsel, purchasers' counsel, lender's counsel and borrower's counsel in connection with publicly and privately offered financings in a wide array of sectors, including general government, airports, higher education, community development districts, tax allocation districts, and water, sewer, and electric utilities.
Prior to her practice as a lawyer, Melissa acquired 10 years of experience in public finance as a paralegal, administrative manager, and law clerk.
Concentrations
- Airports
- Disclosure counsel; compliance programs
- Higher education
- Municipal securities
- Economic development
- Public-private partnerships
Capabilities
Experience
- Represented several issuers and obligated persons in connection with evaluating, diligencing and determining whether or not to self-report certain violations of federal securities laws under the Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Division's Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative.
- Represented several municipal issuers in connection with various compliance matters related to continuing disclosure, including the establishment of a disclosure review team, preparation and filing of event notices and annual financial information, the design and implementation of appropriate disclosure controls and procedures, and the development of training programs.
- Acted as disclosure counsel to the City of Atlanta in connection with the issuance of airport bonds, water and wastewater bonds, general obligation bonds, airport commercial paper, and water and wastewater commercial paper.
- Acted as disclosure counsel to the City of Memphis in connection with the issuance of general obligation bonds, sanitary and sewerage bonds, and general obligation commercial paper.
- Acted as disclosure counsel to the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority in connection with the issuance of airport bonds.
- Represented various governmental issuers in connection with drafting and negotiating intergovernmental agreements.
- Represented various governmental issuers in connection with drafting, reviewing and analyzing legislation, including key research and analysis in respect of complex and novel legal issues.
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, "Ones to Watch," Public Finance Law, 2021-2024
- Selected, Super Lawyers magazine, Georgia Super Lawyers, "Rising Stars," 2023
- Selected, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, “Fellow,” 2024
- Member, State Bar of Georgia
- Member, The Florida Bar
- Member, Virgin Islands Bar Association
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Hispanic National Bar Association
- Member, Georgia Hispanic Bar Association
- Member, National Association of Bond Lawyers
- Member, International Municipal Lawyers Association
- Past Member, Orange County Membership and Mission Review Board
- Past Mentor, Georgia Latino Law Foundation
- Past Volunteer, 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Lawyer for a Day Program
- Community Leader, White House Community Leaders Briefing, Florida, 2011
- Community Leader, White House Hispanic Policy Conference, 2011
Credentials
Education
-
J.D., Arizona Summit Law School, 2012
- Vice-Managing Editor, Accord, Phoenix Law Review Online
- Staff Editor, Phoenix Law Review
- Founder and President, American Constitution Society, Student Chapter at Arizona Summit Law School
- Recipient, Arizona Summit Law School Academic Merit Scholarship
- B.A., University of Central Florida, 2009
Admissions
- Georgia
- Florida
Languages
- Spanish, Fluent