$1.4 billion municipal financing transaction executed by Honigman Miller Schwartz And Cohn LLP

Deal Named "2005 Midwest Regional Deal of the Year" by The Bond Buyer, also finalist for "2005 National Deal of the Year"   Honigman was recently recognized as a member of the financing team for The Detroit Retirement Systems Funding Trust transaction, named "2005 Midwest Regional Deal of the Year" by The Bond Buyer newspaper.  Honigman served as structuring, underwriting, and Michigan state tax counsel to UBS Financial Securities Inc., the lead underwriter in the transaction.   Alan S. Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP, said, "We are extremely proud of the work we did for this deal.  This transaction was significant for the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan, and we are thrilled that it has been recognized as such by The Bond Buyer."   The Detroit Retirement Systems Funding Trust securities offering was the first pension financing in Michigan and the state's largest municipal transaction at $1.44 billion. The transaction provided funding at reduced interest rates for the City's unfunded pension liability to its two pension systems.   The Bond Buyer's Deal of the Year awards, started in 2002, honor the most innovative offerings in the market each year that may be used as a model by other state and local governments.  The winners are selected by The Bond Buyer's bureau chiefs and editors from a pool of more than 60 nominations and more than 40 different transactions. The Bond Buyer is the national newspaper of the public finance industry.   Founded in 1948, Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP is based in Detroit with offices in Lansing and Oakland County.  The Firm represents more than 15,000 clients regionally, nationally and internationally.