Steven Labovitz

Steven J. Labovitz focuses on government affairs at a local, state and federal level, with an emphasis on legislative action, economic development, public finance, privatization and government efficiency. He has extensive experience in formulating public-private partnerships for companies that have business issues with the government sector and governments that are interested in privatization or outsourcing governmental tasks.

In the area of economic development, Mr. Labovitz has been instrumental in working with governments and developers in creating tax incentives for large development projects including establishing tax allocation districts in order to create and implement public-private partnerships. Mr. Labovitz was counsel and architect for the tax allocation district and the public financing utilized for the Atlantic Station project, the largest Brownfield development project in the country.

Prior to joining Dentons, Mr. Labovitz served as Chief of Staff for the City of Atlanta from 1994 to 1997. Generally regarded as having brought business acumen and organization to Atlanta’s City Hall, Mr. Labovitz was instrumental in the redevelopment of the downtown business district.

He is noted as the architect of the financial and business terms leading to the US$141 million Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta, where an additional US$72 million in public improvements were associated with the arena. Parlaying that experience, Mr. Labovitz served as one of the principal negotiators for the City of San Diego in its construction of a new baseball park as part of its downtown redevelopment efforts.

He has since worked on several other major and minor league stadiums around the country, including his recent representation of the Atlanta Falcons in negotiations with governmental entities, including the City of Atlanta, the State of Georgia, and other stakeholders to secure a new state-of-the-art football stadium.

Education:

• Emory University School of Law, JD
• University of Pittsburgh, BS

Admissions and qualifications : Georgia

Memberships:

• American Bar Association
• American Jewish Committee, Vice President of Atlanta Chapter and Member of Executive Committee
• Atlanta Bar Association
• Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Board Member
• Atlanta Jewish Federation
• Council for Quality Growth, Chair (2018)