Tray Hairston concentrates his practice on public finance and economic development matters, including all types of municipal bond issues, serving as bond counsel for both taxable and tax-exempt financings. He has served as bond counsel for various cities and counties and has worked on transactions totaling more than $2 billion.

Prior to his legal career, Tray served as counsel and economic development policy advisor to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. He was also a member of the Business Development Division at the Mississippi Development Authority where he provided project management assistance to companies and consultants looking to locate new businesses in Mississippi. Hairston regularly publishes scholarly legal articles. One of his seminal papers is titled, “The Future of Economic Development, 35 Miss. C.L. Rev. 370 (2017)”. The Bond Buyer also recognized Tray as a Rising Star. The publication’s Rising Stars program honors 28 municipal finance professionals under the age of 40 throughout the country whose leadership, collaborative spirit and innovative work with issuers has positively impacted their communities. Rising Stars are nominated by their peers, and submissions are judged by a panel of municipal finance leaders throughout the country as well as The Bond Buyer’s editorial leadership team.

Tray is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council. In his role as a CEcD, Tray provides economic development consulting advice to communities and site selection consulting to companies throughout the U.S. Tray has been recognized by Mid-South Super Lawyers® for Government Finance (2016-2021), Mississippi College School of Law as Young Lawyer of the Year (2013) and Mississippi Business Journal as one of its Top 40 under 40 (2012-2013). He is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, International Economic Development Council, Southern Economic Development Council, Mississippi Economic Development Council, and Mississippi Bar Association. He received his undergraduate degree from Tougaloo College, his MBA from Belhaven College, and his Juris Doctor from the Mississippi College School of Law.