Thomas R. Melloni Director
Thomas R. Melloni leads the Municipal Law + Public Finance practice group and is a member of the Business + Transactions, Taxation and Commercial Finance teams at Paul Frank + Collins. Thomas’ primary areas of practice include commercial lending, municipal law and public finance, and business law. Thomas regularly works with banks and private financiers in connection with secured lending activities throughout New England, including lines of credit, equipment leasing, and real estate development. He has been actively involved in many significant construction and development projects, including hydroelectric facilities, renewable energy projects, condominium developments, shopping centers, and multi-use public projects.
As part of the firm’s Municipal + Public Finance practice, Thomas serves as bond counsel to cities, towns, school districts, solid waste districts, and fire districts. He has been involved in financings for colleges, libraries, water and wastewater facilities, solid waste management projects, public power projects, municipal airports, hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities. He has represented numerous lenders in financings for health care facilities, electric utilities, and affordable housing projects. Thomas and the attorneys of PF+C represent underwriters in public offerings of municipal bonds and have served as counsel to banks and bond insurance companies providing credit enhancement or liquidity to municipal bond issuances.
Prior to joining PF+C, Thomas was a member of the Vermont based law firm Burak Anderson & Melloni, PLC where he headed up the banking, finance, and business law practice groups. He started his legal career as an associate in the public finance and corporate departments of Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon in New York City.
Professional + Community
Thomas is actively involved in numerous community service organizations, including the Burlington Rotary Club, where he served as club president, and as a director of ReSource: A Non-Profit Community Enterprise, Inc. He has served through appointment on several public panels for the City of Burlington, and has regularly presented seminars on commercial lending and public finance.
Thomas has served on the ABA UCC Article 9 Task Force for the State of Vermont.
Publications
“Environmental Opinions in Commercial Transactions,” The Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 21. No. 5 (1995)
Co-Author: “Planning in Vermont,” published in State & Regional Comprehensive Planning, American Bar Association, Urban, State and Local Government Law Section (1993)
Various Seminar Materials on Commercial Lending
Honors
Best Lawyers in America®, 2009-2022: Banking Law and Public Finance
Best Lawyers in America® – “Lawyer of the Year” for Banking and Finance Law in Burlington, 2019
Listed in The Bond Buyer’s Municipal Marketplace
Chambers & Partners (USA) 2017
Representative Transactions
The following is a partial list of representative transactions in which Thomas Melloni participated as lead counsel:
- Represented the City of Burlington in issuance of both tax-exempt and taxable general obligation bonds;
- Served as bond counsel in issuance of Tax Increment Financing bonds;
- Served as lender’s counsel in private purchase of tax increment financing bonds;
- Represented the City of Burlington in the refunding by the City of outstanding wastewater revenue bonds;
- Served as Bond Counsel for the City of Burlington Airport revenue bonds;
- Represented bond purchasers in refunding bonds for regional health care organizations;
- Served as Bond Counsel to the City of Burlington in a tax-exempt financing by the Electric Department for the purchase of the Winooski One hydroelectric facility;
- Represented Vermont Electric Cooperative in $24 million acquisition of an electric division of a public company;
- Represented a public solid waste entity in creation of a public-private partnership for a material recovery facility;
- Represented group of citizens in the acquisition, financing and development of a common co-housing community, including implementation of conservation rights, organization of ownership structure for the co-housing group, and implementation of the structure for housing assistance;
- Represented senior lenders in a leveraged buy-out by a venture capital fund of a southern Vermont manufacturing company;
- Represented acquiring company in the purchase of a new car dealership franchise and obtaining franchise agreement;
- Represented selling company in the sale of a car dealership franchise and dealership real estate facilities;
- Represented Vermont and New York based machine calibration company in sale of its business to a public company;
- Represented seller in sale of stock and partnership interests in multiple hydroelectric facilities in Vermont and New Hampshire;
- Served as special title counsel in real estate matters for merger and sale of Vermont land telephone lines between two public companies;
- Represented individuals in purchases and sales of professional service corporations and businesses (accounting, architectural, and medical practices);
- Served as counsel for non-profit economic development corporation.