Brief description

In 1960, one specialist on municipal bond finance had this to say about municipal bond attorneys: “All bids and all sales are conditioned upon the delivery of legal opinions by firms of repute; the point is of such consequence that it appears in the advertising of almost every new issue. In fact, investors appear to discriminate among law firms” (Robinson, Postwar Market, 51).

This map identifies municipal bond attorneys, that most crucial, if understudied, group of lawyers who helped validate and facilitate bond offerings in the years between 1931 and 1982.

How to use

Users can toggle the specific year for which they’d like to see the listed attorneys (Each year is represented by a specific color, and each colored dot represents one existing or operating municipal bond attorney during that particular time). Users may also sort by attorney name or by city. Selecting an attorney in the menu is illuminated on the map (i.e. for year 1941, selecting “Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher” lights up on the map in Los Angeles, CA).

What this map reveals

Using a dataset drawn from The Bond Buyer’s decennial Directories, this map reveals the spread of a network of municipal bond attorneys. The most glaring change is visible by toggling the years 1931 and 1981 (both the closure and emergence of firms). Using the menu associated, users may also notice that some cities predominate among others in terms of the total number of bond attorneys.