Jones Walker announced in January that Brian E. Lawlor, former New Orleans and New York housing official, joined the firm’s affordable housing team as special counsel in the New York and New Orleans offices.
During Mr. Lawlor’s tenure as the Director of Housing Policy and Community Development for the City of New Orleans, he returned the Housing Authority of New Orleans to local control, served as the Mayor’s primary liaison to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and led several initiatives that allowed more than 850 low-and moderate-income families to purchase their first homes. He also designed, implemented, and oversaw several of the City’s disaster recovery initiatives.
Mr. Lawlor served as the Commissioner for New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the President and CEO of the New York State Housing Finance Agency, and as the President and CEO of the State of New York Mortgage Agency. In his leadership roles for the State of New York, Mr. Lawlor successfully transformed and consolidated operations of the state’s three major housing agencies and public authorities, leading to a more efficient and effective use of the state’s investments in diverse neighborhoods and communities. Prior to serving as commissioner, he also served as Assistant Secretary to the Governor for Housing, Executive Deputy Commissioner, and General Counsel to the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation. Notably, he served in various high-level positions under both Republican and Democratic governors.
Jones Walker’s affordable housing practice has helped organizations and individuals acquire, develop, finance, and build a broad range of affordable housing; workforce, senior, student, and military housing; and mixed-use projects involving new market credits across the country.
