Transportation
Our Transportation practice is comprised of a multidisciplinary bench of senior lawyers seamlessly providing comprehensive services across the industry, including aircraft (commercial, cargo, and corporate), automotive, freight rail, ports, toll roads/roadways, shipping, and related equipment.
Our transactional lawyers are adept at guiding operators, commercial/investment banks, investors, regulators and governments, and other deal stakeholders through complex domestic, cross-border, and multijurisdictional matters.
Our litigators focus on complex litigation, mass torts, product liability, and antitrust issues. We are counsel to national, international, and regional clients in a range of commercial disputes and transnational litigation, including jury and non-jury trials. We handle matters for national and international companies that involve foreign parties, including jurisdiction of U.S. courts, foreign sovereign immunity, forum non conveniens, service of process and discovery abroad, and multidistrict litigation.
We have established a reputation as a "go to" firm for crisis incidents; most recently having been involved in litigation resulting from widely reported events such as the Costa Concordia grounding and airplane incidents.
Experience Highlights
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Sonaca Group, a Belgium-based aerostructure manufacturer, in its all-cash acquisition of St. Louis, Missouri-based LMI Aerospace Inc.
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Major railroad in defending against several nationwide class action antitrust law suits. In Re Rail Freight Fuel Surcharge Antitrust Litigation
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Airbus SAS in securing dismissal of litigation involving design of crew seating. Siswanto v. Airbus SAS
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Spirit AeroSystems Holdings in securing complete dismissal and victory when the Tenth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a securities class action complaint alleging clients made false and misleading statements that artificially inflated Spirit's stock price.
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Carnival Corporation in acting as lead counsel in lawsuits and appeals across the US arising from the widely publicized January 2012 shipwreck involving the Costa Crociere cruise ship Costa Concordia; secured dismissal of all US claims.
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Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers regarding rulemaking and related litigation.
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General Electric in obtaining antitrust clearances associated with the company's $2.8 billion sale of its European fleet business to Arval, a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas.
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General Electric in obtaining antitrust clearances associated with the company's $6.9 billion sale of its North American and Australia/New Zealand fleet services business to Element Financial Corp.
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Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. in diverse transactions, including agreements involving hydrogen fuel.
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Wheels Up, a membership-based private aviation company, in its placement of a nearly $1.4 billion order—believed to be largest general aviation propeller-driven aircraft order in history—with newly reorganized Beechcraft Corp., formerly Hawker Beechcraft.
Focus Areas
Recognition
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Chambers USATransportation: Aviation — Litigation (Nationwide) (2023)
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The Legal 500 USTransport: Aviation and Air Travel — Regulation and Litigation (2023)
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U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers"Best Law Firms" for Transportation Law (National, Houston) (2023)
