Stephen Stern

Of Counsel

Steve Stern is Of Counsel in O’Melveny’s Los Angeles office.  He was engaged in the practice of project and infrastructure financings for the past 40 years, representing airports, air carriers, ports, railroads, transportation companies, developers, operators, investment banks and other financial institutions.  Steve served as managing partner of the Firm's London office from 2001-2004.

Illustrative Professional Experience

Steve acted as managing partner for substantially all of the Los Angeles Department of Airport financings—over 30 separate transactions for the development, construction and equipping of various stand-alone as well as system-wide facilities—and for tax-exempt financings by various domestic and foreign carriers at Los Angeles International Airport. He has worked on various airport project financings in Honolulu, Denver, Indianapolis, Tucson, San Francisco, Houston, Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, Sacramento, New York and Charlotte. He represented the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority in the US$2.4 billion development and financing of a consolidated high-speed rail corridor linking the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Project Finance International named this project the "1998 Infrastructure Deal of the Year." He has represented port authorities on several projects including the first intermodal container transfer facility financing in the U.S.

Steve has been involved with public and private joint ventures, including a major airline's US$1.2 billion maintenance facility in Indianapolis.

In addition, Steve has regularly served as underwriter's counsel for various major investment-banking firms in project-related financings.

Steve also has significant experience in the area of healthcare finance. He was active in the drafting of legislation such as the California Healthcare Facilities Financing Act and continues to advise both corporate and tax-exempt clients on matters in those areas.

Professional Activities

Member, National Association of Bond Lawyers
Chairman and Lecturer, panels concerning airport and healthcare financings for the New York Law Journal, The National Association of Bond Lawyers, The Practicing Law Institute and The League of California Cities
Lecturer, The Aviation Finance Seminar for Russia and the Federation of Independent States in St. Petersburg, Russia, sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency; participated in a similar program in Shenzen, China regarding China and the Pacific Rim and for Airports Council International and in Germany regarding the European Union