Thank you for visiting my website where you can learn about the services I offer as an LLC and some personal information about me.

Autobiographical sketch for Thomas P. Pannett, P.E., Esq., MBA, CPPOret

CONTRACT SALES AT ODOT:  For two separate stints, I served as ODOT’s Administrator for the Office of Contracts (and Estimating).  That position evolved depending on the needs and interests of the Department’s Executive Suite. But at any given time between 2008 and 2021, I was responsible for:

  • The sale of the Department’s multi-billion-dollar highway construction program and administration of ODOT’s purchasing contracts section.
  • Managing the Department’s DBE Program.
  • Managing the Department’s Outdoor Advertising Control Program.
  • Mediating construction and procurement claims.
  • Drafting legislation and advising on all levels of federal and state contractual compliance.
  • Formulating, negotiating, and providing legal interpretations on complex high-value contractual arrangements including ODOT’s first two value-based design-build projects in Cleveland which were about $300M each.
  • Implementing on-line contractor pre-qualification procedures and thereby gaining significant cost and time savings for contractors and the Department.
  • Facilitating procurement efforts (RFPs, ITBs, RFIs, etc.) including IT related system acquisition (hosted/ non-hosted); negotiated Service Level Agreements, Master Cloud Agreements and leasing arrangements in the multi-millions.
  • Drafting Public Private Partnership initiatives including ODOT’s first autonomous vehicle procurement.
  • Training thousands of Ohio professionals (private and public) including lawyers and engineers on ethics and professionalism.
  • Overseeing an office of estimators who provide estimates for ODOT’s $2B highway construction program.
  • Supervising ODOT’s fraud and collusion investigation team; worked with state and federal IG and OAG.
  • Signing every plan, project legislation and hundreds of construction contracts.

That was an interesting and fun job and the position I held allowed me to touch many thousands of contractors and purchasing vendors as well as local, state and federal employees.  I hoped in all those interactions I was able to provide excellent customer services and solid advice.

LEGAL COUNSEL AT ODOT:  As an in-house attorney for ODOT, I was able to get engaged in a slew of different lawsuits … pothole claims obviously, but also unusual and creative claims such as light damage to crops, salt damage to trees, a massive bridge collapse that killed five with almost no cost to ODOT after the dust settled, claims for building damages and design failures, and on and on.  Probably close to 3,000 different claims came across my desk over the years in the PI world.  But that does not include the contract disputes, real estate challenges, leasing disputes, employment claims, etc.  As an in-house counsel in charge of litigation for more than ten years, I saw many faces of the civil litigation; TROs to appeals.  All this experience can be coalesced into the help that others need in getting a resolution to whatever conflict afflicts them.

ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Before ODOT, I did four years that flew by as an Assistant Attorney General.  By far, my practice focused on eminent domain proceedings, but also, I dabbled in environmental law and – oddly – workmen’s compensation. Being in the trenches as a trial attorney was a complete joy for me and having been on the plaintiff and defendant side has been invaluable to understanding conflicts and their complete potential for resolution.

ENVIRONEMNTAL AND PLANNING ENGINEER:  In ODOT’s District 6 I spent several years working as an intern, paying my way through college.  I was hired full time in 1993 and was offered a position in their Planning and Design section after completing the Engineer in Training program.  So, in about 6 years, I was exposed to and worked on bridge projects, resurfacing projects, designing local traffic improvements, facilitating public involvement hearings and managing local meetings, and performing all levels of NEPA investigations for highway projects.

EDUCATION:  There is nothing more stimulating to me than learning something new.  I also admit that I like to compete for success.  Thus, it pains me to say, but I missed a shot at a 4.0 in earning my MBA from one class and one professor who seemed averse to scoring anyone perfect.  That said, a 3.99 was not too shabby. That need for academic success started for me in law school where I graduated at the top 10% of my class with Mangna Cum Laude honors and even scored at the top 6% of the Bar Exam.  In full disclosure, I performed just well enough in undergrad to get through by the skin of my teeth, but what I did learn was ingrained enough to get me through the Professional Engineer’s exam which I passed in 2017 during law school, while working, and on law review, and doing moot court; yeah, it was a lot.  Finally, in this vein, you will see that I hold a CPPOret. What that means is that I took classes for a few years, passed a test, and submitted my experience in public procurement to an international certification organization, the NIGP.  The “Ret” part means that I no longer practice in the field of public procurement now that I have gone private, but I’m permitted to retain the certification in a retired status.