John Smolen

John P. Smolen counsels public entities, private concessionaires/contractors, and financing parties in large, complex design-build, public-private partnership (P3/PPP), CM/GC, and other progressive and alternative project delivery (APD) civil and social infrastructure projects across the country. John co-leads the firm's P3/Infrastructure Group.

Chambers Global describes John as "a great problem-solver [with] good deal intuition." He has played a leading role in the procurement, negotiation, financing, and administration of several P3 and other APD projects in the transportation, transit, energy, and social infrastructure spaces. John has represented public clients in several states, as well as developers and lenders in several horizontal and vertical infrastructure projects from statutory drafting, through program and template development, pre-procurement, deal structuring, procurement, and negotiation, to post-selection commercial and financial close, with additional experience in implementation, administration, and dispute avoidance/resolution.


John also has considerable experience in general construction and EPC contracting in the energy, renewable energy, and emerging technology spaces. He has led project developments involving wind, solar, and geothermal resources, and he has helped private clients commercialize energy-related technology.

John is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served as naval aviator.