George A. Smith, Jr. is a municipal bond lawyer representing Florida’s largest and most sophisticated issuers and purchasers of tax-exempt and taxable municipal debt. Over the last 23* years, he has participated in over 575 transactions totaling more than $35 billion, including:

  • Disclosure Counsel to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation – 9 issues totaling $14.24 billion
  • Disclosure Counsel to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund – 5 issues totaling $8 billion
  • Bond Counsel to the Florida Division of Bond Finance – 42 separate issues totaling $590 million

He has participated in 225 bond deals totaling over $10 billion by 35 different Florida School Boards as bond counsel and/or disclosure counsel. He also represents various Florida Cities, Counties, Charter Schools, Community Development Districts, Fire Districts, Gas Districts, and Bridge Authorities.

Notably, he served as Disclosure Counsel to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund on its $3.5 Billion Revenue Bonds, Series 2020A issued on September 16, 2020, the largest fixed rate municipal bond deal ever issued in the Southeastern United States.

He is often called upon to draft legislation related to municipal finance and was most recently engaged by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents in 2017 to draft portions of HB 7069, and in 2019 to draft portions of SB 7070, each of which amended Section 1013.64(6), Florida Statutes, to provide a mechanism whereby school facilities that exceeded the total cost per student station requirements that had been adopted by the Florida Legislature in 2016 could still be constructed and financed upon compliance with a safe harbor.

He is the Chair of the Public Finance Seminar presented by the Florida Bar’s City County and Local Government Section and frequently speaks to other professional organizations, including the Florida League of Cities, the Florida Association of Counties, and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

He and his wife Alva enjoy traveling to visit their six children that presently live in Tallahassee, Manhattan, Eugene, Oregon, and Kagoshima, Japan.

*George A. Smith PLLC was created in January 2023, and transactions that closed prior to that date were handled by Mr. Smith while associated with a prior law firm.

Alva Swafford Smith
Chief Operating Officer

Alva Swafford Smith is the Chief Operating Officer of George A. Smith PLLC. She currently serves as Chair of the Leon County School Board and is the Executive Director of the Stoops Center of Law & Business at FSU College of Law. A former middle school math teacher, Alva was first elected to the Leon County School Board in 2014, and was re-elected in 2018 and again in 2022. In her role as a school board member, she has oversight of the $653 million budget for Leon County Schools, which is home to 34,000 students, 3,400 employees, and 42 school sites. Leon County Schools is rated AA by Fitch and has experienced over $25 million in debt reduction since her first election in 2014.

In her role at the FSU College of Law, she is tasked with creating the first executive education program at Florida State University that will include robust course offerings led by legal practitioners and business professionals. The executive education program she is building will be the first of its kind for any law school in the state of Florida.

Alva previously served as CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend, overseeing a $1 million nonprofit agency and placing over 600 mentors annually in the Leon County School District. Alva currently serves on the Leon County Value Adjustment Board and is a graduate of Leadership Tallahassee Class 34. She and her husband George are the parents of six children. Alva is an avid runner and golfer, and is a living kidney donor.