Michael McNamara Discusses the New Life of Public-Private Partnerships

Commenting on Pillsbury’s creation of a firmwide PPP focus group last March, McNamara said, “As PPP work picks up throughout the country, firms are going to recognize that it makes sense to tie the capabilities.” McNamara said. He cited the example of a Pillsbury client, Aerostar Airport Holdings LLC, as a success story for the PPP group. Aerostar was awarded the bid to operate the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico for the next 40 years.

McNamara added that this was the first major privatization airport project in the United States, and the largest PPP project at the firm since the focus group was formed. “In and of itself, [PPP] is not a practice area for lawyers. It is a project that requires expertise from other focus areas. The point is to have these experts coordinating with each other. I'm optimistic that we're ahead of the curve."