Becker & Poliakoff established its Public-Private Partnerships practice team with attorneys and other professionals that have proven public & private sector knowledge, experience and contacts in order to assist businesses seeking PPP opportunities.
Services include:
1) identifying potential projects; 2) identifying sources of funding; 3) assembling the right team of professionals; 4) approaching the public entity; 5) forging relationships between team members and government representatives; 6) drafting contracts and other legal agreements to protect parties’ interests; 7) providing advice and counsel on all aspects of PPP project development.
Fundamental to a successful PPP project is a close working relationship between the public and private sector partners. While all parties are interested in seeing PPP projects succeed, there are inherent misgivings between parties when venturing outside of traditional project planning and public financing.
Becker & Poliakoff’s PPP team is uniquely-qualified to bridge this gap because several members of the Becker & Poliakoff team have worked inside government, at the highest levels, on various PPP and infrastructure projects. Such projects include, for example, the Port of Miami tunnel, Miami Marlins stadium, Miami International Airport terminal expansion project, People Mover rail to Miami International Airport; State Road 7 Transit Oriented Corridor Project, and the Town of Davie’s wastewater reclamation facility.
Such large infrastructure projects require extensive knowledge and experience in construction, finance, real estate, and government relations to ensure the right combination of private investment and management along with public cooperation and control.
Our team provides value to each engagement. We assess the political landscape, reach out to key decision makers, advise our clients on regulatory requirements, assist in structuring and securing funding and financing, while continually providing general legal and strategic counsel in areas including:
- Real Estate, Transactional, Financing: Our Real Estate, Corporate and Securities attorneys help structure, document and close transactions; they assess project feasibility, handle all contracts and draft funding agreements;
- Legislation and Lobbying. Our Government Law & Lobbying team provides on call 24 hour/day service helping clients navigate the political landscape for a project and develop strategies for winning support within the public entity;
- Construction Law. Every member of the firm’s construction practice group is Board Certified as an expert by the Florida Bar. They are well versed in all aspects of public construction projects having represented numerous government owners, as well as private contractors working on public projects.
- Government Contracts. Our procurement attorneys assist the private sector partners with all aspects of the public contracting and procurement process;
- Development Reviews and Project Permitting. Our firm’s land use attorneys advise clients on compliance with laws relating to development, environment, land use and more that are needed for government approval of major infrastructure projects.
The PPP Practice Team is chaired by Board Certified Construction Attorney Lee Weintraub and co-chaired by COO George Burgess, former Miami Dade County Manager and Jennifer Bales Drake, a 25+ year real estate attorney who leads the firm’s real estate practice group.
