Mark Lemon

Chair, Infrastructure & Public-Private Partnerships Group
Polsinelli

Drawing on more than 20 years of public and private sector experience in project finance, his previous role as the Presidentially-appointed Chief Counsel to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and as the lead advisor to the FHWA Administrator and Secretary of Transportation on Public-Private Partnerships (P3s), as practice lead, Marc Lemon brings powerful and unique insights to the deal table as he helps major project developers, operators, and facility owners strategically navigate transportation, telecommunication, and social infrastructure P3s. Based in New York and Washington, his experience includes representation of: 

Project developers Concessionaires Operators  Bid teams Project sponsors  Equity investors  Lenders  Contractors  Transportation companies

Subcontractors  Advisors  Private and public highway and bridge authorities  Railroads  Ports  State DOTs  Transit authorities  Energy developers Telecommunications companies

His deal credentials include extensive experience on transportation mega-projects involving highways, bridges, railroads, transit systems, and ports. His transportation experience also includes extensive deal work with the TIFIA, PABs, and TIGER Programs. Marc’s social infrastructure experience includes extensive work on mega-projects involving energy facilities, telecommunications systems, public use buildings, court houses, schools, military housing, alternative energy systems, water systems, parking garages, and other public development projects that contain a private investment component. 

Marc has also represented various Fortune 500 companies, public authorities, and investors throughout his career on project finance matters, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, private placements, and entity formations, including joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions. As an industry leader, Marc is also a frequent commentator to news outlets on transportation policy and P3 issues, and he regularly testifies as an expert before state legislatures and public authorities on Project Finance and P3 matters. 

Marc is also a decorated Major (ret.) with the U.S. Army Reserves Judge Advocate General’s Corps, former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Inspector General of the Pentagon, as well as former Chief Counsel to the FHWA. During Marc’s tenure as FHWA Chief Counsel, he advised senior FHWA and USDOT officials on project finance and P3 matters. He was also instrumental in several successful P3 initiatives and the development of multiple tolling and congestion relief projects of national significance, including the development of the Transportation Border Congestion Relief Program (P3s at the borders), and the creation of the Office of Innovative Program Delivery (the P3 division of FHWA). He was also instrumental in streamlining and overhauling the joint Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Program, which has become the de facto infrastructure bank for many surface transportation projects. Marc also frequently represented FHWA on the USDOT Credit Council which awards TIFIA loans and lines of credit. He also represented FHWA as lead counsel on several successful mega-projects such as the Intercounty Connector, Capital Beltway HOT Lanes, Silver Line Metro Extension, I-595, Corridors of the Future, privatization of rest areas, commercialization of federal highways, and tolling at the borders. 

As a respected member of the industry, Marc is also frequently called to serve as an expert witness and also provides litigation counseling before various courts and legislative bodies in transportation matters including toll road litigation, federal contract litigation, false claim cases, FHWA/SBA/DBE fraud cases, forfeiture cases, FHWA debarments, major construction arbitrations, and P3 litigation. Furthermore, Marc has represented transportation developers, construction entities, and public authorities on transportation regulatory matters, procurements, and waivers. 

Most recently Marc served as Team Leader for the Transportation & Infrastructure Team of the Presidential Transition, authoring the $1 trillion infrastructure policy and action option plans for President-Elect Trump. In that capacity, Marc led a team of 30 team members who developed various policy alternatives in all modes of transportation, as well as water, fiber, technology, and energy infrastructure public-private partnerships.