Donna Brady

Donna Brady

Senior Counsel
Los Angeles

Donna Brady has more than 30 years of experience focused on traditional and innovative procurement, financing, and administration of infrastructure projects, including public-private partnership (P3) projects. Donna’s experience includes projects in the transportation, water, energy, and social infrastructure spaces, with particular emphasis on representing state and local transportation agencies in contracts for construction and operation of highways and bridges, as well as other transportation infrastructure, including rail, ferry, and airport projects.

Donna has unique experience with interoperable electronic toll collection systems. She co-authored a study for the Federal Highway Administration on developing innovative contracting methods for tolling procurement using Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), and helped develop the interoperable toll program used by California toll operators. That groundbreaking electronic toll interoperability program paved the way for interoperability arrangements nationwide. Donna has assisted numerous state and local agencies with toll technology procurements.

Experience 

Representative Matters

  • University of Florida Central Energy Plant. Key member of legal team advising the University in connection with the DBFOM P3 development of a new central energy plant on its Gainesville, Florida campus.
  • Georgia Department of Transportation. Member of legal team advising the Georgia Department of Transportation in connection with Design-Build projects under its Major Mobility Investment Program, including the I-285/I-20 East Interchange DBF Project; and updates of related programmatic documents.
  • California Toll Road Projects. Since 1990, key member of legal team that advised on all aspects of planning, developing, and operating California’s first electronic toll road system. The team advised on all contracts, including more than $2 billion in design-build contracts and operation and maintenance agreements for toll roads, facilities, and systems. The team also advised on cooperative agreements with state and local agencies and private developers; acquisition of rights-of-way; procurement and deployment of new technologies; licensing of trademarks to other agencies and commercial enterprises; rollout of new customer services, such as digital apps and website content; transponder licenses; management of data and customer privacy issues; credit card payment and security practices; toll enforcement; interagency operations; and administration of a developer fee program.
  • Regional Water Purification Project. Key member of legal team that advised a California joint powers authority procuring a series of progressive design-build contracts to create a new, local, sustainable, and drought-proof drinking water supply with state-of-the-art technology to purify recycled water and supplement current drinking water sources of supply, funded through a combination of federal and state grants and loans, and municipal bonds.
  • Municipal Transit Connector Project. Played key role on legal team advising on an innovative project to develop an automated people-mover to link major destinations within the city to the regional rail system.

Professional Highlights

Pro Bono Experience

Volunteer Attorney, Kids in Need of Defense, 2018-present

Volunteer, Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development, 2016-2018

Recognition & Accomplishments

Received the Innovation + Technology Award from the Commercial Observer, October 2022

Named one of California’s “25 under 45” by California Law Business, July 1994

Speaking Engagements

Guest Lecturer, “Allocating Risk in Design Build Contracts,” California Polytechnic University, Pomona, 2019

Panelist, “Negotiating Master Utility Agreements for Alternative Delivery Projects,” Transportation Research Board’s 57th Annual Workshop on Transportation Law, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 2018, and Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., 2019

Publications

Co-Author, “Liability of Design-Builders for Design, Construction and Acquisition Claims,” NCHRP Study 20-06, 2015

Co-Author, “Innovative Contracting Practices for ITS: Task E - Final Report; FHWA Contract No. DTFH61 -94-C-0016, April 1997

“Creative idea to highway ideal,” TOLLtrans, Traffic Technology International supplement, October/November 1996

Credentials 

Education

University of California, Berkeley School of Law (J.D. 1985)

University of California, San Diego, (B.A., cum laude, 1982)

Admissions

California