Delphine G. Carnes

Partner

Delphine’s practice focuses on tax credit finance, affordable housing and community development. She represents public housing agencies, developers and lenders in connection with all aspects of housing and commercial development and redevelopment initiatives, with an emphasis on transactions using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (“LIHTC”), New Markets Tax Credits (“NMTC”), state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits (“HTC”), tax-exempt bonds, HUD financing, grant funds, conventional loans, and/or subordinated debt. She advises redevelopment and housing authorities in complex revitalization efforts, including mixed-finance transactions using Choice Neighborhood Initiative (“CNI”) grants, HOPE VI funds, LIHTC, and public and private sources of capital. She also assists housing authorities with the conversion of public housing units to project-based Section 8 programs through the Rental Assistance Demonstration (“RAD”) initiative. Delphine has been involved in the NMTC program since its inception, representing Community Development Entities, financial institutions and developers in transactions that often combine federal and state tax incentives with other financing sources.

Businesses & Industries

  • Affordable Housing
  • Bond Financing
  • Commercial and Residential Developers
  • Community Development
  • Financial Institutions
  • Public Finance
  • Real Estate Finance
  • Redevelopment and Housing Authorities
  • Tax Credit Finance

Honors & Awards

  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell
  • Listed in Best Lawyers of America® – Project Finance Law and Public Finance Law, 2013-2018
  • Listed in Virginia Super Lawyers, Tax, 2017
  • Listed in Virginia Super Lawyers “Rising Stars”, Tax, 2007-2016
  • Listed in Virginia’s “Legal Elite” by Virginia Business Magazine; Young Lawyer Under 40, 2008

Education

  • T.C. Williams School of Law at The University of Richmond, J.D., magna cum laude, 2002
  • Nanterre University, Paris, France, Law Graduate Degree, European Union Law, Valedictorian, with high honors, 2000
  • Sorbonne University, Paris, France, Law Graduate Degree, English and American Business Law, with honors, 1999
  • Nanterre University, Paris, France, Diploma in English and American Law, B.A. in French Law, with high honors, 1998

Bar/Court Admissions

  • Virginia State Bar
  • District of Columbia Bar
  • Virginia Supreme Court
  • United States Supreme Court
  • District of Columbia Court of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia

Memberships

  • Virginia Bar Association
  • American Bar Association (Section of Taxation; Forum on Affordable Housing & Community Development Law)
  • Norfolk & Portsmouth Bar Association (Executive Committee, 2012-2016)

Community Involvement

  • Norfolk Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (President)

Experience & Presentations

  • Represents Community Development Entities (CDEs), financial institutions and Qualified Active Low-Income Community Businesses (QALICBs) in connection with the New Markets Tax Credits program.
  • Represents redevelopment & housing authorities, developers and lenders in connection with projects using HOPE VI, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), and mixed-finance transactions.
  • Represents redevelopment & housing authorities in connection with the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) initiative.
  • Represents public entities as Issuer’s counsel in transactions involving tax-exempt and taxable bond financing.
  • Structured the first NMTC transaction that uses the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds as leveraged debt.
  • Structured the first NMTC transaction that utilizes HUD public housing development funds as the source of leveraged debt.
  • Experience in HOPE VI, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Rehabilitation Tax Credits (state and federal) and mixed-finance transactions.
  • Represents developers and lenders in connection with the use of historic rehabilitation tax credits (federal and state) for the redevelopment of residential and commercial buildings.
  • Represents entities in the acquisition, financing, development and disposition of real estate.
  • Experience in general corporate counseling, including corporate formation and reorganization, acquisition and disposition of corporate assets, tax exemptions and commercial transactions.