About Patrick D. Harder
CO-CHAIR, CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE PRACTICE
Patrick Harder is widely known for his work on high profile public-private partnerships (“P3s”) and the deployment of other innovative project delivery methods to realize large scale infrastructure projects across a myriad of asset classes.
Public agencies, contractors, and developers actively seek his guidance in procuring some of the largest, most important projects in the country. Clients have confidence that Patrick can mitigate risks, solve problems, and advance their projects smoothly and successfully—often through cutting-edge approaches.
Patrick spent more than two decades representing public agencies on complex and innovative public works contracts involving highways, bridges, tunnels, rail, aviation, universities, energy, public buildings, and technological system upgrades. In addition, Patrick’s deep private sector background broadens his perspective in assisting public clients on such projects as entertainment facilities, clean rooms, data centers, and medical facilities. Earlier in his career, he served as general counsel and executive manager for two of the world’s largest construction and engineering firms, both based in Japan. He also worked as a legal and business adviser on dozens of public and private construction and infrastructure projects around the world.
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
Experience
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) – Proton Therapy Facility. Currently advising the University of California, San Francisco on a P3 transaction involving a lease/lease-back arrangement using a 501(c )(3) non-profit entity to develop a 300,000-gross-square-foot clinical building adjacent to the UCSF Mission Bay Hospitals campus site, including a state-of-the-art oncology treatment facility with next-generation proton beam therapy, incubator laboratories to facilitate innovations in life sciences, and multi-specialty clinical space.
City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports (“LAWA”) – Automated People Mover. Served as lead outside counsel to Los Angeles World Airports on the procurement and implementation of a $4.9-billion automated people mover (“APM”) train system to ease access in and out of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) its largest airport. It will also connect travelers to a light rail, intermodal transportation facility and a rental car center. Now nearing completion of construction, it is the first APM system procured through an availability payment public-private partnership delivery model and earned several national and international awards.
City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports (“LAWA”) – Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility. Served as lead outside counsel to Los Angeles World Airports on the consolidated rent-a-car (“ConRAC”) facility project at LAX. The facility will relocate and centralize car rental facilities away from the central terminal area and provide direct access to major freeways. The two-billion-dollar project, delivered using an availability payment P3, is the largest such facility in the world and is designed to accommodate 22,00 vehicles and handle up to 25,000 transactions per day.
Denver International Airport – Jeppesen Terminal Redevelopment Project (Great Hall Project). Advised the City and County of Denver on a $1.8-billion P3, which included a multi-faceted upgrade of Denver International Airport’s Jeppesen Terminal and the development and management of a new concessions program within the terminal. The project combined an availability structure with shared revenue risk on the concessions program.
The Regents of the University of California – UC Merced 2020 Campus Expansion. Served as lead outside counsel to the University of California on a $1.3-billion P3 project that doubled the size of its Merced campus with the addition of new facilities, including student housing, classrooms, recreational facilities, and associated infrastructure. The first university availability payment P3 to close in the United States, the completed project was awarded platinum LEED, making UC Merced the first public research university to be certified as carbon neutral and one of the only universities in the world designed to achieve triple net zero (energy, waste and greenhouse gas emissions).
Florida Department of Transportation – I-4 Ultimate. Served as lead outside counsel to the Florida Department of Transportation on the development and negotiation of contract and procurement documents for a $2.3-billion highway development across Orange and Seminole Counties. The availability payment P3 project rebuilt 21 miles of interstate highway, 15 major interchanges, added or replaced 127 bridges, and built four tolled express lanes partially funded through a $949-million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan. The project opened to traffic in 2022.
Port of Long Beach – Long Beach International Gateway Bridge. Served as lead outside counsel to the Port of Long Beach on the development of a new 1.5-mile cable-stayed bridge to serve one of the world’s largest and busiest container ports. Advice included assisting with the $957.5-million procurement and with contract administration, including claims resolution and project acceptance. The project opened to traffic in 2020.
Florida Department of Transportation – I-595 Corridor Improvements. Served as lead outside counsel to the Florida Department of Transportation on the procurement and delivery of this $1.8-billion public-private partnership aimed at alleviating congestion on a key urban traffic corridor in Fort Lauderdale. Advised on procurement, contract, and financing documents and addressed issues that arose throughout design and construction. The project, the first U.S. transportation project with an availability payment scheme, won numerous honors and opened for operation in March 2014.
Washington State Department of Transportation – Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement. Advised the State Attorney General’s Office on a $1.35-billion design-build contract to replace the 60-year-old Alaskan Way Viaduct with what was at the time the world’s largest-diameter bored tunnel. The two-mile waterfront tunnel opened in February 2019. It incorporates a double-decked roadway with incoming and outgoing traffic on different levels.
Florida Department of Transportation – PortMiami Tunnel. Served as lead outside counsel to the Florida Department of Transportation on the procurement, financing, and delivery of the P3, which greatly reduced traffic in the Miami region. The $800 million availability payment project, which opened in August 2014, included construction of twin 42-foot tunnels under Biscayne Bay, linking Port facilities to the interstate highway on Dodge Island, MacArthur Causeway and I-395. The project, which captured many honors, opened on schedule and on budget in August 2014.
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (“VTA”) – BART Silicon Valley Extension Phase II. Served as a key member of the legal team that advised the VTA in connection with the development of procurement and design-build contract documents for Contract Packages 1, 3, and 4 of the BART Silicon Valley Phase 2 Program. This $6.8-billion program will extend public transit into a key region in the Silicon Valley. The program, consisting of four separate contract packages, will include an approximately five-mile-long, 48-foot exterior diameter single-bore tunnel, with three underground stations, one at-grade station, and a maintenance and storage yard.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey – LaGuardia AirTrain Development Project. Served as lead counsel to the Port Authority on real estate, procurement and design-build contracting matters for the proposed AirTrain LGA project; a 1.5-mile automated people mover system that was intended to provide a convenient, easy-to-use rail connection that offers travelers and employees reliable, predictable travel times from a major urban center to one on the nation’s busiest airports.
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
News & Views
Honor / Honors & Awards
Blank Rome Attorneys Recognized in 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Real Estate Lawyers GuideAugust 11, 2026
Honors & Awards / Ranking
Chambers USA 2026 Recognizes Blank Rome Attorneys and PracticesJune 4, 2026
News / Press Release
Blank Rome Welcomes Leading Infrastructure & Project Finance Partners Patrick Harder and Brandon J. Davis in Los AngelesMay 19, 2026
Events & Webinars / Speaking Engagement
Patrick Harder: Noteworthy Speaking EngagementsThrough to 2026
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
Recognitions
- 2026, listed in Lawdragon 500 Leading Real Estate Lawyers
- 2012–2026 (Band 1 for 2020–2026), USA, Projects: PPP, listed in Chambers Global
- 2011–2026 (Band 1 for 2020–2026), Nationwide, Projects: PPP, listed in Chambers USA
- 2023, “Top 100 Lawyer,” listed by Los Angeles Business Journal
- 2019, Recipient of the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (“CLAY”) Award – Infrastructure, by Daily Journal,
- 2018, 2020, “Top 100 Lawyers,” Daily Journal
- 2019, 2021, “Minority Leaders of Influence: Attorneys,” listed by Los Angeles Business Journal
- 2021, “Visionaries in Banking and Finance,” Los Angeles Times
- 2025, Recommended Lawyer, Project finance: Infrastructure and PPP, listed by The Legal 500 United States
- 2019–2023, Industry Focus: Finance/Project Finance – Advice to Sponsors, listed by The Legal 500 United States
- 2019, “California Trailblazer,” listed by Recorder
- 2018, “Leader in Law for Real Estate,” listed by Los Angeles Business Journal
- 2014, 2016, “Project Finance MVP,” listed by Law360
- AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
Memberships
- American Bar Foundation
- Construction Lawyers Society of America
Professional Activities
- Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy, Advisory Board
- USC Viterbi School of Engineering and USC Price School of Public Policy, Adjunct Instructor
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Construction Lawyers Society of America, Fellow
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
Bar Admissions
- California
- Florida
Education
- Loyola Marymount University, BA
- University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, JD
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
