PRACTICE AREAS

Eckert Seamans has developed a broad-based and highly specialized practice in the area of transportation law.  The firm's practice in this area is nationwide, and includes the representation of a range of mass transit clients, including city and county governments, public transit agencies, private management companies, transit suppliers, and transit consulting firms.

The firm represents its mass transit clients on a number of issues, including government procurement, state and federal regulatory requirements, financing, and construction contract administration and claims.  The firm's legal counsel in this area involves representation of clients before the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Labor, various state departments and agencies, and the state and federal courts.

While mass transit is a specialized industry, the issues facing the industry, and thus the firm's representation, cover a broad spectrum.

Government Procurement

The firm represents mass transit clients at every stage of the public procurement process.  The firm's attorneys have considerable experience developing procurement documents, such as instructions to bidders, requests for proposals, design-build documents, bid protest procedures, debarment procedures and general specifications, as well as providing counsel in the pre-award and change-order process.  The firm also represents its clients in bid protests and litigation arising out of procurement disputes.  Firm attorneys have extensive experience working with the procurement guidelines for grantees issued by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and with other federal and state procurement requirements.

State and Federal Regulatory Requirements

The firm's attorneys are actively engaged in providing counsel to mass transit clients regarding state and federal regulatory requirements, particularly those requirements imposed on grantees of federal funds from the FTA.  The issues typically involved include Buy America regulations, disadvantaged business enterprise regulations, environmental impact statement issues and other environmental matters, Inspector General audits and investigations, elderly and handicapped requirements, drug testing, and charter and school bus regulations.

In addition, the firm has extensive experience in the development and negotiation of Full Funding Grant Agreements with the FTA.

The firm has a broad range of experience in transit labor matters such as collective bargaining negotiations, equal employment opportunity matters, grievance arbitration, pension plans, and Fair Labor Standards Act matters.

Financial Plans and Financing Issues

Eckert Seamans has assisted several public clients in the development of financial plans for the construction of new-start projects.  This work involves the identification of federal and state funding sources, the analysis of project expenditures and revenue schedules, and the development of action plans (including legislation) to secure the needed resources.

Eckert Seamans has also been active in assisting its public transit clients in securing alternative means of financing major transit projects.  For example, the firm provided counsel to a public transit agency in the first issuance of advance construction notes secured in part by future FTA capital grants.  The firm's attorneys also have experience in cross-border and leveraged leasing transactions, particularly related to the federal issues that arise regarding the use of federally funded equipment in these lease transactions.  In addition, the firm has worked with public clients in developing and implementing joint development and air rights projects on transit property.

Construction Contract Administration and Claims

The firm has extensive experience in representing public transit agencies in a range of issues arising out of the agency construction programs.  This representation includes the preparation of documents for engineering, construction, and construction management contracts, the interpretation of contract documents during construction, the arbitration and litigation of construction claims against public agency clients, and the prosecution of claims by the public agency regarding design and construction management issues.  In related areas, the firm has provided legal counsel regarding land acquisitions, negotiations with railroads over use of rail facilities, and eminent domain proceedings.