Jonathan Needle

Mr. Needle's duties as Chief Legal Officer at HFRRF include legal issues involved in every part of the Fund's structure and operations. These duties range from advising the HFRRF board on benefits eligibility determinations to analyzing and negotiating complex investment arrangements such as HFRRF involvement in private equity partnerships, drafting and advancing legislation and performing many of the varied duties a chief legal officer or general counsel for a small corporation would perform. Mr. Needle is also in charge of assigning and managing outside counsel when needed.

Prior to assuming his duties with HFRRF in the fall of 2000, Mr. Needle was Associate General Counsel and then Deputy General Counsel for Texas Association of Counties (TAC) for nearly ten years, acting as counsel on both internal corporate and statewide legal, political and planning issues. At TAC, Mr. Needle also gained experience in management of statewide self-insurance pools, in claims, insurance coverage and liability issues concerning local government and in counseling boards of trustees and administrators. Before his employment with TAC, Mr. Needle practiced law with a private law firm in Austin, Texas, representing cities and other local governments in a variety of state agency - related matters and in the courts. Mr. Needle's first job as a licensed attorney was with the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Needle holds Bachelor's (magna cum laude) and Master's of Arts degrees from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Mr. Needle is licensed to practice in the Texas courts, the United States District Courts for the Southern, Northern and Western Districts of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Needle is a fellow of the College of the State Bar of Texas, a member of the Houston Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys, the Texas Association of Public Pension Attorneys and the Texas Exes.