Silvia A. Shin—a bond lawyer with 20 years of experience—has joined Ballard Spahr's national Finance Department, Public Finance Group, and Delaware office as Partner, firm Chair Peter Michaud announced today. Joining the firm with Silvia are Associate Morgan Haas and Paralegal Frank Tynan, both of whom will be based in the firm's Philadelphia office.
"We have known and worked with Silvia and her well-regarded team for years and are delighted that we can now call them colleagues," said Valarie J. Allen, who leads the Public Finance Group alongside Steve T. Park. "Silvia, Morgan, and Frank are dedicated to their clients, team-oriented, and justifiably renowned for their work in Delaware and Pennsylvania. They are an excellent addition to our already-strong Delaware Valley and national teams and we welcome their clients to Ballard Spahr."
Silvia joins well-known Ballard Spahr Partner and former Finance Department Co-Chair Emilie R. Ninan in the Delaware office, creating a public finance powerhouse in the State with enhanced capabilities and expanded reach and scale.
"Not only does Ballard Spahr have one of the best-regarded public finance practices in the country, I am also joining a premier national finance practice, as well as gaining colleagues in corporate, environmental, health care, real estate, and tax law who will help me provide comprehensive service to my clients," Silvia said. "Ballard is a perfect fit for me and my clients. Getting to work with Emilie is a welcome bonus."
Added Emilie, "Silvia and I have enjoyed a long working relationship based on mutual respect. We have periodically looked for the opportunity to join forces and I am so pleased that day is finally here. The future looks bright for us and our clients."
With Silvia's addition, Ballard Spahr is now the appointed bond counsel to the State of Delaware, its agencies, and state conduit issuers such as the Delaware Economic Development Authority and Delaware Health Facilities Authority. The firm will also serve as bond counsel to county and municipal issuers throughout Delaware for general obligation and revenue bonds as well as both bond counsel and borrower's counsel on conduit debt financings for charter schools, continuing care retirement and senior living communities, and other nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining Ballard Spahr, Silvia was a partner at Saul Ewing LLP.
Ballard Spahr is home to one of the premier public finance practices in the country. Its more than 50 attorneys have participated in the issuance of more than $1 trillion of tax-exempt obligations in all states, the District of Columbia, and American territories. Since 1958, the team has been listed continuously as a nationally recognized bond counsel firm in The Bond Buyer's Municipal Marketplace, and is regularly ranked by Thomson Reuters among the top firms in the country each year as bond counsel and underwriter's counsel by dollar volume. In 2025, Ballard Spahr received a nationwide Band One Chambers USA ranking for Public Finance.
On January 1, 2025, Ballard Spahr combined with Lane Powell, adding more than 150 new attorneys to the firm, as well as offices in Anchorage, Portland, and Seattle.