Taft Announces Newly Formed Infrastructure Advisory and Welcomes Seth Miller Gabriel and Umer Yaqub Business

Taft is pleased to announce the formation of Taft Infrastructure Advisors led by Seth Miller Gabriel and Umer Yaqub. Taft Infrastructure Advisors is an independent affiliated business of the law firm focused on providing infrastructure advisory services for innovative infrastructure projects.

Taft Infrastructure Advisors will serve many infrastructure sectors, including social infrastructure, real estate and housing, energy, water, transportation and transit, and broadband and telecommunications. Taft Infrastructure Advisors will provide clients with market-leading analysis, including financial, structuring, and government affairs, and will offer the guidance and access needed to deliver innovation in infrastructure.

Miller Gabriel, principal, has been a leader in infrastructure, public-private partnerships (P3s), and project governance for nearly twenty years. He has advised public owners and private sector partners throughout the country and has been a public owner as the P3 Director in Washington, DC. Miller Gabriel has advised countless governments, organizations, and institutions on the creation of project development policies and projects around the world. Prior to starting Taft Infrastructure Advisors, Miller Gabriel co-led BDO’s Infrastructure and P3 team and, prior to that, he served as director of programs and initiatives at the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI), the national P3 trade association in the U.S. dedicated to education and support to the public sector in the area of public-private partnerships. He has also been honored as an AIAI Ambassador.

Yaqub, principal, has more than 20 years of experience in infrastructure advisory, project finance, and public-private partnership projects. He has advised on major infrastructure projects and executed transactions across a wide range of asset classes, including social infrastructure projects and projects in the broader arena of economic and environmental infrastructure. He has advised public sector clients on the development of P3 programs and projects, working through the complete transaction lifecycle, from project inception through debt arrangement and project management. Previously, Yaqub was the practice co-leader for the Infrastructure Advisory and P3s team at BDO and advised both public and private sector clients on the successful development and execution of infrastructure projects.

“Taft Infrastructure Advisors’ financial advisory and structuring services will provide significant value to our clients and beyond,” said Robert J. Hicks, Taft’s Managing Partner and Chairman. “Seth and Umer are reputable leaders in the P3 industry with a shared commitment to excellent client service and we are thrilled to welcome them to the Taft team.”

Yaqub stated, “This is an exciting partnership to leverage Taft’s entrepreneurial and sophisticated platform to bring our P3 and structuring advisory services to clients throughout the U.S.”

Miller Gabriel noted, “As someone who has been a public owner representative, I am excited by the resources that the expanding Taft platform offers. These resources provide the ability to help clients accomplish their critical infrastructure objectives for their communities using innovative tools of public private partnerships and alternative procurements to rethink what is possible.”

Tom John, chair of the Taft Public Infrastructure industry group shared his excitement with the creation of Taft Infrastructure Advisors, noting that, “Seth and Umer are respected members of the P3 community and will provide Taft clients and attorneys with savvy and expert insights into the inception, structuring, and implementation of projects, large and small, throughout the U.S.”

About Taft

As a modern law firm with a non-headquarter operating model, Taft is fully committed to delivering the highest level of service to today’s organizations and individuals. The legal performance of Taft attorneys is recognized nationally, with inclusion in the Am Law 100, Chambers USA, U.S. News Media Group Best Law Firms, Best Lawyers®, Super Lawyers, and more.

On Jan. 1, 2025, Taft will expand into the Mountain West region by combining with Denver’s oldest and third-largest law firm, Sherman & Howard L.L.C., a prominent firm founded in 1892. With the addition of Sherman & Howard’s approximately 125 attorneys, Taft will have more than 1,000 attorneys, spanning from Washington, D.C. to the Mountain West region.