Peter White was running late. An offshore hurricane had generated big waves near his Long Island beach house, and the lifelong surfer hadn’t been able to resist a few extra minutes in the ocean. When the Nixon Peabody partner returned home, he called his secretary to explain. Shut up and turn on the TV, she told him.

  • Dealmakers: Municipal Bonds

  • It was the morning of September 11, 2001, and the principals in a planned deal to build stadiums for the New York Mets and New York Yankees had scheduled a meeting in lower Manhattan. Like many other plans on that day, the meeting — and the deal — were derailed. It would take four years to get the projects back on track, and nearly five years before the deals were signed. Along the way, as bond counsel for the New York City Industrial Development Agency, White coordinated the efforts of dozens of lawyers, helped solve a potentially showstopping Internal Revenue Service problem and worked to close deals for both new stadiums within minutes of each other. “It was like synchronizing two trains, each conducted by individuals with different personalities,” White says. “People worked 24/7 on these deals, giving up vacations to get it done.”