Bruce D. Donaldson

Bruce primarily served as bond counsel for counties, cities, towns, redevelopment commissions and other special taxing districts to finance public buildings, infrastructure and other local public improvements through the issuance of tax-exempt and taxable bonds. He served as bond counsel for virtually every type of local public project, with a particular emphasis on local economic development through the use of creative financing vehicles such as tax increment finance (TIF). He also assisted developers and businesses wishing to locate new facilities in Indiana by negotiating state and local incentive packages.

Bruce also worked on several projects involving the financing of sports and entertainment facilities. He served as bond counsel for the Banker’s Life Fieldhouse project and the Lucas Oil Stadium project in Indianapolis, and The Center for the Performing Arts project in Carmel, Indiana.

Bruce was a regular participant in the legislative process in the Indiana General Assembly. He drafted, and lobbied on behalf of, various types of legislation affecting local government finance, particularly in the areas of redevelopment law and tax increment finance. Notably, Bruce drafted the original military base reuse statute on behalf of the Fort Harrison Transition Task Force Corporation. Bruce also was one of the principal drafters of the enabling legislation that created the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority, which provided the legal avenue for the financing of Lucas Oil Stadium

Clients depend on Bruce to mitigate their challenges and help solve their problems, while maximizing their position and chances of success. Bruce was at his best when working with them on strategy development. An avid team player, Bruce derived personal satisfaction from helping clients achieve their goals and then seeing the results on skylines throughout Indiana and beyond.

While at DePauw University, Bruce played on the varsity golf team and was president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.