Transportation
Our transportation experience is as wide-ranging and varied as the various modes of transportation themselves. The legal issues confronting transportation companies are as varied as the people and goods they transport and the places they go, and we have handled a wide variety of them. The legal issues faced by transportation companies, even those that arise in litigation or transactional matters, are often significantly affected by the public safety and regulatory context in which these companies evolved. Whether it be automotive, trucking, railroad, aviation or aerospace, we likely have "been there, done that."
For companies that manufacture or operate automotive equipment, we have provided counseling and litigated cases concerning various product safety and product liability issues, including those related to rollovers, crashworthiness, handling, ignition fires, tire failures, and rim designs. Our intellectual property lawyers have prosecuted and litigated patents for some of the largest automotive manufacturers in the world. Our government contract lawyers have represented sellers of automotive products to the Government (for both military and civilian use) and assisted them in complying with the rules that apply to government contractors. Our labor and employment lawyers have a great deal of experience in the application of labor laws to heavily unionized transportation industries, such as those involving the trucking industry.
We have litigated and provided counseling on a wide variety of matters for companies in the railroad industry. We have significant experience in litigating issues relating to the acquisition and use of rights-of-way. We have handled a wide variety of antitrust issues for railroad companies, including mergers and acquisitions, and civil and criminal litigation. Our government contract lawyers have handled bid protests on behalf of railroad companies seeking contracts with the Government, and our labor and employment lawyers have handled retirement benefits and other issues.
Our experience in representing aviation companies is equally wide-ranging. Indeed, we have one of the most experienced aviation practices in the country. We represent both passenger and cargo airlines before the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation on the full panoply of issues arising before those agencies, including route cases, certification and licensing, and handling of hazardous materials. Antitrust has been a major area of activity for us; we have handled Department of Justice and Department of Transportation approvals of mergers and acquisitions in the airline industry and participated in major rulemakings at the Department of Transportation on competition-related issues. We have also represented manufacturers of equipment and materials used in aircraft in product safety litigation.
In the aerospace segment, we represent manufacturers and operators of satellite systems in a myriad of ways. We have handled corporate transactions and provided tax counseling and litigated tax cases for satellite companies. The Government is a major purchaser of aerospace equipment and services, and we represent some of the largest sellers of these goods and services to the Government with respect to all procurement-related issues, including bid protests, government contract costs, compliance, claims, terminations, and prime-sub and other litigation. We also provide regulatory counseling services to firms that use satellite systems to provide telecommunications services.
For more information, please contact:
Aerospace and Government Contracts: Terry Albertson or Michael Newman
Antitrust: Wm. Randolph Smith
Corporate and Tax: Hal Heltzer
Labor and Employment: Tom Gies
Litigation and Product Safety: Scott Winkleman or Rick McMillan