SIFMA adds municipal bond expert

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has hired Leon J. Bijou as managing director and associate general counsel in a bid to expand its municipal bond expertise. In the new position, Mr. Bijou will work with the group’s municipal division on legal, regulatory and market practice initiatives. “Leon’s background will be an asset to SIFMA as we enter the new year with a focus on issues in the municipal bond market such as liquidity, transparency, taxes and financing of state and local infrastructure,” Leslie Norwood, a SIFMA managing director and associate general counsel, said in a statement. Prior to joining SIFMA of New York and Washington, Mr. Bijou was a vice president and associate general counsel at The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of New York, where he served as the general counsel for the municipal bond department. He has also served as bond counsel, underwriters’ counsel, trustees’ counsel and special product counsel at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP of San Francisco.