Our Economic Development team has represented a large and diverse group of manufacturing, energy, processing, distribution, warehousing, health care and other enterprises. Team members have been involved in many of the mega-projects announced in the country over the past 15 years.
Whether developing a greenfield project or expanding at an existing location, Butler Snow can provide a breadth of expert legal, consulting, and business advisory services seldom found in a single family of organizations. Through firm affiliate Butler Snow Advisory Services, we can provide a comprehensive scope of economic development consulting and business advisory services. Through the law firm, we will create a team of substantive area specialists matching the client’s needs. Our services begin at the earliest stages of project development and can continue to serve day to day needs long after project completion.
Depending on the client’s needs, our team can provide expertise in:
- Site selection
- Negotiation and documentation of large and small incentive packages, including:
- Provision and preparation of the project site
- State and local tax incentives and tax planning to abate or minimize property, income, sales and use, contractor’s and franchise taxes
- Loans, grants and other inducements for economic development
- State income tax credits, such as industrial revenue bond debt amortization credits and new jobs credits and rebates
- Work-force and training incentives and services
- Transportation and utility infrastructure
- Project financing
- Tax incentive financing, including industrial revenue bond financing (taxable and tax-exempt) and new markets tax credits and energy tax credits financing
- Environmental permitting and other regulatory and administrative issues
- Utility services
- Labor and employment
- Construction contracting
- Governmental relations and communications
The team’s work on mega-projects typically requires the drafting and promotion of special legislation authorizing customized project-specific incentives. In order to assist with the provision of such services, Butler Snow has developed extensive relationships at the local, state and national level over many years with governmental, tax, economic development, civic, legislative and environmental leaders.
Highlights
- Ten of billions of dollars of industrial projects, including automotive assembly plants, steel mills, defense contractor manufacturing, large electric and gas facilities and renewable energy projects.
- Our representation also includes state and local economic development organizations, so we are well-versed in project development from the public as well as private side.
- The firm was instrumental in the drafting of the federal legislation that created the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act (GO Zone) to help Katrina-stricken areas of our state recover. Butler Snow then created an extensive outreach program (see our website at www.gozonelaw.com) providing advice to hundreds of Mississippi business people on how best to take advantage of this unprecedented federal program.