Frank Liu

Overview

Frank Liu helps public agencies use innovative procurement methods to deliver highly complex and large-scale airport, highway, bridge, tunnel, transit and social infrastructure projects.

His work spans every step of the procurement process. He assists with drafting procurement and contract documents relating to design-build, public-private partnerships (P3s) and design-build-operate-maintain agreements, and advises on proposer evaluation and selection strategies.

Frank offers infrastructure clients unique expertise in engineering matters. Before attending law school, he worked as a civil engineer.

Experience

City of Inglewood – Inglewood Transit Connector. Key member of the Nossaman team advising on all aspects of the $2 billion elevated fixed guideway rail project to connect LA Metro's Crenshaw Light Rail Line with the revitalized Market Street commercial area, the Kia Forum, the Intuit Dome and Sofi Stadium at Hollywood Park. We play key roles in strategic direction, project governance, legal authority, procurement planning and implementation for a DBFOM contract, property acquisition, financial planning, negotiating with third party stakeholders and the formation of a joint powers authority between the City and LA Metro to own and manage the project.

City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports – Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ConRAC). Key member of the legal team that advised on the ConRAC project at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The facility will relocate and centralize car rental facilities away from the Central Terminal Area and provide direct access to major freeways. The $2 billion project was procured through an availability payment public-private partnership delivery model. The project captured many honors.

City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports – Automated People Mover (APM). Key member of the legal team that advised on a $4.9 billion APM train system to ease access in and out of the Los Angeles International Airport. It will also connect travelers to a light rail, intermodal transportation facility and a rental car center. Now under construction, it is the first APM system procured through an availability payment public-private partnership delivery model and earned several national and international awards.

The Regents of the University of California – UC Merced 2020 Campus Expansion Project. Member of the legal team that advised 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 award-winning project is the first university availability payment P3 to close in the United States, and achieved substantial completion on schedule and on budget in June 2020. The project was awarded platinum LEED, making it the first public research university to be certified as carbon neutral. Frank's services included assisting with structuring the procurement, drafting and finalizing procurement and contract documents, and developing the evaluation process. Following closing, he continues to advise the University on legal issues arising from the implementation of the project.

University of Hawai’i – Life Sciences Building. Member of the Nossaman team that advised the University on its first design-build project, a 70,000-square-foot structure currently under construction on the Manoa Campus as the new home for the College of Natural Sciences’ biology, microbiology and botany departments, as well as the Pacific Biosciences Research Center and the Biological Electron Microscope Facility serving 60 campus labs. Services included review of the procurement package and providing an initial draft of the design-build contract, as well as conducting a statutory compliance review. In early 2017, the contract was awarded to Layton Construction Company, LLC, with Group 70 International as the designer. The state-of-the art facility opened in spring 2020.

Orange County Transportation Authority – I-405 Improvement Project. Member of the legal team engaged as part of the Authority’s program management team to advise on a $2.16 billion design-build project to add a general-purpose lane and an express toll lane, as well as the conversion of an existing HOV lane, in each direction for a 16-mile stretch of freeway. The project, the largest highway upgrade in Southern California, relieves pressure on one of the state’s most congested corridors. Frank’s role included assisting in evaluation of SOQs for the project and reviewing procurement and contract documents for compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The new lanes opened to traffic in December 2023.

Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCAs) – Orange County Public Toll Roads. Member of the legal team advising these agencies on all aspects of planning, developing and operating their toll road system since 1990. The TCAs were formed by the California Legislature in 1986 to plan, finance, construct and operate Orange County’s public managed lanes network. The system was primarily financed with proceeds from toll revenue bonds, reducing the need for taxpayer investment in roadway development. Nossaman has advised on all of TCA’s contracts, including more than $2 billion in design-build contracts and operation and maintenance contracts for toll roads, facilities and systems. Frank’s role has included reviewing procurement and contract documents for compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) – Sepulveda Pass Transit Corridor Project. Key member of the legal team engaged to implement LA Metro’s first application of the Pre-Development Agreement delivery method to develop the approximately $6 billion to $10 billion Sepulveda Pass Rail Transit project through one of the most congested interstate highway corridors in the nation. This transit line will connect with the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles’ Westside, integrating into the East-West San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit, the Orange Line, the Purple Line, the E Line (formerly the Expo Line) and ultimately the Los Angeles International Airport.