Julie K. Seymour
Partner / Lateral Recruiting Partner
Introduction
Julie Seymour represents and advises banks, borrowers (including hospitals, health systems, educational and cultural institutions, and long-term care providers), governmental issuers, underwriters, and trustees in all aspects of tax-exempt and taxable financings. Julie is a member of the firm’s Management Committee, which works with firm leaders to execute the strategic plan and oversee day-to-day operations.
My focus
In my finance practice, I regularly serve as bank, borrower, underwriter, and bond counsel on transactions for health systems, colleges and universities, cultural institutions, and other nonprofit entities across the country. This work involves the underwriting or direct purchase of tax-exempt bonds and credit and/or liquidity facilities issued to support tax-exempt and taxable municipal securities. I also counsel conduit borrowers in structuring and negotiating taxable and tax-exempt financing transactions and negotiate and draft documents in a manner that maximizes flexibility and protection for those borrowers. During my career, I have worked on billions of dollars worth of financings across many states, including variable and fixed-rate bonds, put bonds, self-liquidity bonds, lines of credit, accounts receivable financings, and swaps, as well as secured, unsecured, and syndicated lending transactions.
Representative experience
- Representing Cook County, Illinois, as co-bond counsel for its $280 million General Obligation Series 2022 Bonds.
- Representing various banks in connection with the restructuring of over $750 million in indebtedness of a major health system, including the direct purchase of tax-exempt bonds, term loans, lines of credit, and liquidity facilities to support publicly traded bonds
- Representing numerous banks in establishing lines of credit on behalf of healthcare institutions, colleges, and universities across the country
- Representing a bank syndicate in connection with a $700 million line of credit in favor of a major public university system
- Representing the largest Catholic healthcare system in Illinois in connection with the restructuring of over $1 billion in tax-exempt bonds to refinance existing debt and finance new capital projects
- Representing two separate hospital providers located in Indiana and Wisconsin in connection with tax-exempt bond issues to finance replacement hospital facilities
- Negotiating with tax-exempt bondholders to obtain a waiver of various financial covenant defaults by a health system
- Representing an underwriter in connection with bonds issued on behalf of public charter schools across the country.
Looking ahead
I anticipate increased demand for timely and detailed disclosure regarding privately placed bonds. In addition, as the country’s healthcare providers face various operational challenges, I anticipate assisting those providers and their bank partners work through covenant defaults and restructurings.
/Insights
- Speaker, Let's Talk: A conversation with Kim Barker Lee, Chief Legal Officer at Bally's Corporation, Virtual, May 10, 2023
- Speaker, BondLink Webinar, “COVID-19 Disclosures: What We’ve Learned & Lessons For Going Forward”, Virtual, June 17, 2021
- Julie speaks regularly on tax-exempt finance and healthcare lending issues.
In the news
- Law360
Attorneys who moved up the firm ranks in Q1
May 14, 2025This roundup of partner-level promotions from the first quarter of 2025 includes the partner elevations of Complex Disputes partners Paul Downs of New York City, Eric Ferrante of Rochester and Christie Kurow of Chicago; San Francisco Privacy & Technology partner Andrew Winetroub; Washington, DC Affordable Housing & Real Estate partner Rebecca Simon; and Boston Community Development Finance partner Justin Fitzgerald. Washington, DC AHRE partner Colette Dafoe and Chicago PBFN partner Julie Seymour’s appointments to NP’s Management Committee are featured, as are Washington, DC partner Greg Doran’s selection as head of NP’s PFIRE department and Boston partner Jeff Gilbreth’s appointment as Labor & Employment practice group leader.
- Law360
Law360 names attorneys who moved up the firm ranks in Q1
May 17, 2023This article featuring partner-level promotions in the first quarter of 2023 mentions Chicago Project Finance & Public Finance partner Julie Seymour’s appointment to NP’s Management Committee. The article also highlights members of the 2023 new partner class: Boston Intellectual Property partner Ravi Braich; Long Island Healthcare partner Jason Chimon; Washington, DC Community Development Finance partner Emily McKinney; New York City Complex Disputes partner Alper Tosun; and Affordable Housing & Real Estate partners Julia Casteleiro, Ari Glatt, and Kathie Soroka of New York and Ian O’Banion from San Francisco.
- The Bond Buyer
Billion-dollar deal will cement an Illinois healthcare merger
This article on a $1 billion financing deal that further advances NorthShore University Health System’s merger with Edward-Elmhurst Health mentions NP as borrower’s counsel. Chicago Project Finance & Public Finance partner Julie Seymour represented NorthShore University Health System on the deal.March 8, 2022 - Modern Healthcare
COVID-19 sinks not-for-profit hospitals' operating margins
This article, covering the pandemic’s impact on not-for-profit hospitals, quotes Chicago Project Finance & Public Finance partner Julie Seymour on how these hospitals have managed their expenses and reallocated resources in response to reduced demand for patient services.March 25, 2021 - The Bond Buyer
With budget in rearview, Cook County turns sights to borrowing plans
This article mentions the firm for serving as bond counsel to Cook County, IL, in its new money and refunding deals totaling about $600 million. The NP team included Chicago partner Julie Seymour, San Francisco partner Travis Gibbs and New York City counsel Abbie Olsen, all in the Project Finance & Public Finance group.Dec 22, 2020 - The Bond Buyer
University of Chicago and several Illinois health systems prepping deals
This article mentions Nixon Peabody as borrower’s counsel for NorthShore University Health System’s plan to sell new-money and refunding debt next week. Chicago Project Finance and Public Finance partner Julie Seymour and associate Gretchen Sherwood were the deal attorneys.March 3, 2020 - Law360
Evaluating SEC Plan For New Municipal Issuer Disclosures
Public finance partners Julie Seymour (Chicago), Liz Columbo (New York) and Dan Deaton (Los Angeles) published a contributed article on the SEC’s proposed amendment to Exchange Act Rule 15c2-12 and what it could mean for market participants.March 13, 2017 - The Bond Buyer
Voluntary Disclosure on Direct Loans Seen as Falling Short
Chicago Public Finance partner Julie Seymour is quoted in this article about how disclosure remains a grey area in the growing direct placement market.July 1, 2015
Admitted to practice
Illinois
Education
Rockford College, B.A., cum laude
University of Illinois College of Commerce and Business Administration, M.B.A.
University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., cum laude
Professional activities
- American Health Lawyers Association
- Chicago Bar Association
- Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys
- Illinois Bar Association
- National Association of Bond Lawyers
- Women in Public Finance
- Presbyterian Homes, member of the Board of Directors (including serving on its Governance and Finance Committees).
- Previously served as a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers’ Steering Committee and chair of the “Current Issues in Healthcare Finance (Non-Tax Matters)” for its annual Bond Attorneys’ Workshop.
Recognition
- Recognized for exceptional standing in the legal community in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2025 for Healthcare and Public Finance; also recognized for Healthcare in previous years.
- Selected as one of Crain’s Chicago Business “2022 Notable Women in Law,” which recognizes women in practice for at least ten years who “serve as role models or mentors to other female attorneys and show leadership in professional organizations and civic and community initiatives”
- Selected, through a peer-review survey, for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 in the fields of Health Care Law and Public Finance Law (listed since 2013)
- 2023 and 2019 Public Finance Law “Lawyer of the Year” for Chicago, Illinois
- Selected as a leading lawyer in health law and public finance law by Leading Lawyers Magazine (2017)
- Recommended in The Legal 500 United States 2019 editorial for Industry focus—Health Care: Service providers
Insights And Happenings
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View AllJill H. Gordon
Partner / Co-chair, Life Sciences Practice- Los Angeles
- Office:+1 213.629.6175
- jgordon@nixonpeabody.com
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