Bob Olson was a partner with Squire Patton Boggs for 32 years in its public finance (bond counsel) practice and retired as a Senior Partner in 2013. Bob served in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office from 1971-76, where he headed the Civil Rights Division, the Consumer Protection Division and served as Chief of Staff. For 38 years with Squire, Bob advised governmental bodies and hospitals on sophisticated financial transactions. Squire asked him to relocate to its San Francisco office in 2002 to establish and lead its public finance practice on the West Coast. Since 1986, he has worked on over $27 billion of infrastructure financings in California and 13 other states. His clients included the U.S. Department of Transportation, the states of California and Florida, the cities of San Francisco and San Diego, BART, L.A. Metro Transportation Authority, Arizona and Hawaii Departments of Transportation, and numerous other public bodies, non-profit hospitals and organizations. He also represented Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Merrill Lynch and other investment bankers as underwriter’s counsel on a broad range of financings for public infrastructure and nonprofit hospitals in over 10 states. He was selected by lawyers for listing in “Best Lawyers in America” in public finance.

Bob has served Public Advocates in several capacities for 20 years. In 2005, he joined the Finance Committee as a non-board member and served for eight years before being elected to the Board of Governors in 2013. He has also served on the Board’s Development and Audit Committees. Bob was Chairman of the Board of Governors from 2020-23 and continues to serve on the Finance, and Governance, Committees. From 1989 to 2001, he served on the executive committee of a non-profit public interest law firm in Arizona.

Education

Bob graduated from Harvard Law School, cum laude, and received his BA summa cum laude, with honors, from Indiana University.