Sarah D. Polito

Conducting her business and facilities practice with proficiency and professionalism, Sarah Polito provides general counsel and legal guidance to public education agencies throughout California. She represents clients in a broad range of areas, including real estate transactions, school facilities construction, land use, general procurement, data privacy and Title IX athletic equity. Sarah also handles surplus property disposition, public purchasing, developer fees, general contract review and negotiation and analysis related to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

With significant experience preparing requests for qualifications and other public bidding documents, Sarah advises clients on bid protests, piggyback contracting, education technology purchasing and contract negotiation. She also specializes in assisting clients with the purchase of property for construction of new school facilities and the sale of surplus school properties, through preparation and negotiation of purchase and sale agreements, performing due diligence review, and overseeing close of escrow procedures. She also guides clients in required reporting for use of developer fees and assists in the negotiation of leases and joint use agreements.

Sarah particularly enjoys maintaining ongoing close contact with clients and serving them in a general counsel capacity. Organizations rely on her to answer their day-to-day questions, act as a sounding board for ideas, anticipate potential challenges, and help seize opportunities and maximize value. She is also relied on by clients to review and advise on complex documents produced by other legal counsel, translating legalese into clear terms and simple, digestible concepts.

Prior to joining F3, Sarah assisted clients with the equity and real estate aspects of low-income housing tax credit transactions. Her duties included drafting and negotiating limited partnership agreements, project management agreements and other contracts on behalf of investors acquiring multi-million-dollar, multi-family real estate developments.

An engaging public speaker, Sarah has presented at conferences hosted by the California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), California School Boards Association (CSBA) and California IT in Education (CITE). She also frequently delivers presentations and board workshops regarding public contracting, educational fundraising issues and Title IX athletics compliance.

Combining an outstanding work ethic with a durable appreciation for the public school system that she attended from kindergarten through law school, Sarah passionately represents educational agencies with great skill, thoroughness and efficiency. She puts her enthusiasm for teamwork to good use by regularly passing along her valuable insights to newer attorneys through mentoring. She also regularly serves as a volunteer judge for the University of Nebraska College of Law’s Client Counseling Competition.