The NABL Member Spotlight initiative is a volunteer-based program. All featured members participate voluntarily and are selected to highlight their contributions and achievements within our community. Participation in the spotlight does not imply endorsement by NABL. If you would like to be featured, please contact us! Now, let’s meet Louis Couture and learn more about his public finance journey:

1. What inspired you to become a NABL member and how did your career in Public Finance start?   

I had some basic knowledge of the public finance world prior to going to law school through my work in State government, but my first real exposure to the practice was during my 1L summer internship with the Law Department of the City of Philadelphia.  I was fortunate to be mentored by NABL member Francois Dutchie, who guided me through my first review of a bond transcript with infinite patience and was kind enough to let me tag along to bond closings where I got to gorge on free cookies and chat with public finance attorneys. I went to work at a firm as a public finance associate after law school and the first advice I received there was to join NABL and get a copy of the Fundamentals of Municipal Bond Law, which has been a lifeline more than once! 

I am starting my fifth year of practice, and I find public finance to be a highly rewarding field where I get to work on complex transactions, wrestle with arcane tax issues, and help bring to life projects that have a positive impact on the world around me.   

2. How has your participation and membership in NABL provided value to you and your practice?   

I have enjoyed attending the NABL conferences (Essentials and Workshop), not only because each session had high-quality presentations, but also because I got to hang out with other attorneys who shared with me a somewhat nerdy enthusiasm for bond financing. I have volunteered on a few NABL projects, including comments to the IRS and editing some tax sections of the Fundamentals, and each time I got to learn from practitioners with much more experience than me in the field.   

3. You’ll be leading a panel at our next All-Hands Tax Law Committee Meeting. What can attendees look forward to during this session? 

Matthias Edrich and I will be leading the conversation on the various tax issues related to bond financings of intangible assets, such as water rights or software licenses, which we hope to be a dynamic exchange of perspective among members of the Tax Law Committee and an opportunity to share experiences on transactions that faced similar issues.  

4. What advice would you give to new attorneys? 

Try to get face time as much as possible. I have learned that, as a junior attorney, the answer to one question always spawns more questions, and I have found that there is no better way to drill down into an issue than through the back-and-forth of an in-person conversation.   

Also, join the NABL Young Lawyers Network! 

5. What are your most recent favorite podcasts, books, and/or TV shows?   

I listen to audiobooks during my daily commute and recently finished The Burgundians: A Vanished Empire by Bart Van Loo, a captivating history of the Dukes of Burgundy, a European medieval dynasty. If you are a Game of Thrones fan trying to fill the void of political intrigues, high-stake power struggles, and murderous feuds in your life, this one is for you!