Speakers

John F. Wilcox, Jr. is a Director/Shareholder with Dysart Taylor Cotter McMonigle & Montemore, P.C. in Kansas City, Missouri. For more than 20 years, he has represented clients in the trucking industry, advising motor carriers, drivers, 3PLs, shippers, manufacturers and governmental entities in wrongful death, serious personal injury and property claims.

Mr. Wilcox is the current President of The Transportation Lawyers Association and is the Co-Chair of the Missouri Bar’s Tort and Transportation Committee. He is a recipient of TLA’s Distinguished Service Award.
 
Mr. Wilcox earned his Bachelor of Science from Missouri State University and his Juris Doctorate from The University of Kansas.
 

Clark Monroe was a founder of DunbarMonroe, PLLC in 2001.  He has represented clients throughout the State of Mississippi in matters before state and federal courts for over 26 years. The majority of his practice involves litigation in the area of truck accidents, premises liability, specialized patient transport liability, and other commercial general liability claims. In addition to liability defense he handles complex employment law litigation, including independent contractor misclassification claims.

Clark regularly provides advice and strategy concerning regulatory issues, leasing regulation compliance, and contract negotiation for motor carriers and brokers throughout the country. He also advises insurers concerning coverage questions and defense obligations in Mississippi under auto and commercial liability policies.
He is an active member of industry organizations including the Mississippi Trucking Association, the Transportation Lawyers Association, Conference of Freight Counsel, Defense Research Institute, and The Gavel. He holds an AV Preeminent rating with Martindale-Hubbell. He frequently presents on various insurance and transportation topics around the country.

He obtained his Bachelor of Accountancy and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Mississippi.  After twenty years as a Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery Officer, he retired from the Mississippi National Guard at the rank of Major in 2006.
 

Charles E. Riley, IV joined Simon Peragine Smith & Redfearn, LLP in 2004 following Hurricane Katrina. He
practices in the areas of ground transportation law, large-loss subrogation, corporate defense, insurance
coverage and defense, and maritime law.  

Charlie represents several large national companies and insurers in a variety of general liability matters,
from slip-and-fall claims and commercial trucking accidents to more-complex product liability claims. He also assists companies and individuals with assessing the extent and scope of insurance coverage. Charlie has represented many of his clients for his entire career, and he takes pride in responding timely to his
clients’ questions and concerns.  

While in college at LSU, Charlie interned for the FBI in Washington, D.C. as well as worked offshore on a
derrick barge disassembling de-commissioned oil platforms. He and his wife Julie have been married for 17 years, and he enjoys coaching his son’s sports teams and attending his daughter’s plays and musicals.  

Douglas Best has a broad commercial litigation practice. He is a national leader at Miller Thomson in corporate fraud asset recovery. His practice has a particular emphasis on corporate fraud both domestically and internationally, employment law, administrative law, regulatory law, and general contractual claims and disputes. Acting predominantly for corporations for more than 30 years, Doug has gained considerable knowledge and expertise in a wide range of industries including transportation, real estate, and financial services.
 
Doug also has particular expertise in various injunction-type proceedings including those relating to the identification, preservation, and quick recovery of assets: Mareva injunctions, Anton Piller orders, and Norwich orders. Doug is also a certified and practising mediator, and has completed Harvard Law School’s Mediating Disputes program.

Doug is results-oriented and is committed to providing well-reasoned counsel. He has also written and spoken on various issues over the course of his career, most notably for the transportation industry on defending claims against carriers, and for domestic and international clients seeking to recover assets taken in fraudulent circumstances.

A senior partner at the firm, Doug was previously Miller Thomson’s General Counsel and a member of its National Executive Committee.
 

Bridgette Blitch is a shareholder of Blitch Westley Barrette, S.C. Bridgette’s practice includes handling the defense and prosecution of high dollar cargo claims, insurance coverage claims, and business law disputes. Bridgette has successfully prosecuted and recovered freight charges for her trucking clients against property owners, insurers, and general contractors. Bridgette has represented numerous logistics providers in the drafting and implementation of numerous corporate due diligence documents, including employment policies, supervisor’s policies, driver’s manuals, code of conduct and record retention policies.

Bridgette is admitted in the state courts of Florida, Wisconsin, and Colorado. Bridgette is also an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. Bridgette received her J.D. from University of Denver Sturm College of Law where she was the Editor in Chief of the Transportation Law Journal. Bridgette has received several accolades during her career, and most recently, in 2019, Bridgette received the TLA’s Distinguished Service Award.
 

Marc S. Blubaugh is a partner with the firm and serves as the Co-Chair of the firm’s Transportation & Logistics Practice Group, which has been designated several times by U.S. News & World Report as the “Transportation Law Firm of the Year.” Mr. Blubaugh has been recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in the area of Transportation Law by the “The Best Lawyers in America” publication for over a decade. He is a Past President of the Transportation Lawyers Association, currently serves as outside General Counsel to the Intermodal Association of North America, and is a Past President of the Columbus Roundtable of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

Mr. Blubaugh is also active in other industry trade associations, such as the American Trucking Associations, the International Warehousing Logistics Association, the Transportation Intermediaries Association, and the Transportation Logistics Council. He is a proud recipient of TLA’s Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Blubaugh represents international and domestic carriers of all modes, freight forwarders, transportation brokers, warehousemen, other third-party logistics providers, and commercial shippers, in a wide variety of surface, air, and ocean disputes in state and federal courts throughout the country.

Mr. Blubaugh also regularly consults with transportation and logistics clients regarding contracting and regulatory issues and provides strategic advice to minimize liability. He frequently presents on the subject of transportation and logistics law at events across North America.

He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Case Western Reserve University and his Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University.
 

Kevin Brejcha is an associate attorney with Blitch Westley Barrette, S.C. In 2011, Kevin graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago. In 2014, Kevin received his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he was a member of the Appellate Advocacy Honors Program and Loyola’s Mock Trial Team.

Kevin is a member of the Illinois state bar, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Kevin is an active member of the Transportation Lawyers Association, the Traffic Club of Chicago, and the DuPage County Bar Association.
 

Matthew W. Daus is the Founder and Chair of the Transportation Practice Group. His practice focuses on transportation law, counseling clients on a broad range of matters including regulatory compliance, strategic planning, procurement, litigation, regulatory due diligence, expert witness testimony and reports, administrative law and public policy. Within this area Mr. Daus coordinates representation on a wide array of legal needs and services representing ground transportation, technology and related businesses and government entities. Mr. Daus also practices in the area of employment law, advising employers concerning the hiring and discharge of employees, employment discrimination laws and general personnel and policy matters.

Before joining Windels Marx, Mr. Daus served as Commissioner and Chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission ("TLC") for eight and one half years, appointed by Mayors Giuliani, Bloomberg and the New York City Council. Prior to his tenure as the TLC's longest serving Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Daus served as General Counsel to the Commission and Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs since 1998, and before that, as Special Counsel to the TLC Chair - supervising over 75 lawyers and Administrative Law Judges. Mr. Daus also served as General Counsel to the New York City Community Development Agency (now the Department of Youth and Community Development), Special Counsel to the New York City Trade Waste Commission (now the Business Integrity Commission), and as a Prosecutor for the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Heather Devine is one of Canada’s leading Transportation lawyers and Advocates. Her most recent success in the (Ontario) Superior  Court of Justice (Commercial  Court) enabled her client to retain  possession of a private  jet over which her client claimed a lien. Her success in the Federal Court of Canada resulted in a permanent injunction being  granted in one of Canada’s few mechanical patent trials, as well as clarification of the role of experts in the Federal Court and  the successful defence of a spoliation claim. Justice Manson  highlighted Heather’s cross  examination of an expert at trial by noting that the expert  was “shredded on cross-examination”.
 
Having gained a reputation as being  a ‘fixer’ in the field of commercial litigation for businesses and  insurers,  she develops and  implements the strategy, budgeting and case management of complex litigation for private and  public, national and  international clients. Some  of her significant victories, aside from the permanent injunction in the Federal Court of Canada, include  an arbitration judgment of € 6 million against the Government of Libya at the ICC (Paris) and  successful judicial review of an error by the Patent Commissioner, to compel the granting of a mechanical patent on a truck bumper.
 
In her role as a commercial litigator, Heather has  defended product liability claims regarding pipes,  medical devices, lighting fixtures, transformers and aerospace materials, among others.  She has  also  litigated  claims involving property management issues, condominium law and  commercial tenancy, which included removing  directors from a condominium board, damages for breach of commercial lease, reserve fund claims, personal injury, environmental contamination and  construction issues.
 

A native of Crowley, Louisiana, Jim Dill's pre-legal experience includes work as both a mechanic and a truck driver. He attended Louisiana State University and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in 1985. In 1988, Jim received his Juris Doctor Degree from Loyola University School of Law and has been practicing as a defense attorney handling litigation matters in the areas of insurance, transportation, trucking, products liability, and warranty litigation. He is admitted in all State and Federal Courts in Louisiana and is a member in good standing in the American Bar Association, as well as all state and local bar associations.

He is also a member of The Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA). He served as a Director for TIDA for eight years, two of those as President. Jim currently serves as a Director for The American College of Transportation Attorneys (ACTA). Jim has received an “AV” rating by Martindale Hubble and was named a member of the National Association of Distinguished Counsel In 2015. He has first responded hundreds of serious loss accidents and tries cases in Louisiana and the Southeastern Region of the United States.

Jim is the founder and owner of the Dill Firm, APLC in Lafayette, LA.
 

Derek Goodman currently serves as Corporate Counsel for the Real Estate and Global Sourcing team at Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., where he is responsible for real estate transactions and procurement for Latin America, the US, and Asia. Previously, Derek was in-house counsel for a warehouse and shipping supply company in the Midwest, and before that represented corporate clients in Chapter 11 bankruptcies and receiverships at a law firm in Milwaukee. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He currently resides in Seattle.
 

Gordon is a partner with Fernandes Hearn LLP in Toronto, Canada. Gordon represents international and domestic interests involved in the transportation, supply chain and distribution of goods in litigation, regulatory and contractual matters.

Gordon advises shippers, receivers, carriers, logistics providers (3PL’s, supply chain and “fulfillment” providers, freight forwarders, load brokers, customs brokers and warehousemen) and their insurers on their legal interest and exposure in the international, cross-border and domestic carriage of goods by all modes of carriage.

Gordon is recognized as a leading Transportation Law Lawyer in Chambers Global™, Martindale Hubbell™, The Legal 500 Canada™, "Best Lawyers in Canada"™ and in the “Lexpert™ Guide to US/Canada Cross-border Lawyers in Canada”.

Gordon is a 1982 graduate of Western University and a 1985 graduate of the University of Windsor Law School.
 

Brian Mathis is the principal of Mathis Law Group. He handles business law and civil litigation matters focused primarily within the transportation and logistics industry. Mr. Mathis represents motor carriers, transportation intermediaries and logistics providers, ocean transportation intermediaries, warehousemen, and shippers in a wide range of areas, including risk management, asset protection, commercial litigation, contract negotiations and disputes, federal and state regulatory compliance and permitting, employment matters, and insurance coverage cases. He received his J.D. in 2007 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and is licensed to practice in Florida and Texas.
 

Paul represents public and private sector clients in high stakes litigation, including putative and certified wage and hour, misclassification, harassment, and discrimination class actions. His practice focuses on complex employment litigation, and he has significant experience in all aspects of the transportation industry. Paul’s practice also includes providing compliance advice and counseling on employment law and transportation law issues. He has handled a wide variety of individual and multi-plaintiff cases in federal and state court including race, sex, disability, and age discrimination suits, as well as breach of employment contract, wrongful termination, fraud, defamation, whistle-blower, wage and hour and other employment-related litigation.
 
Paul also represents public and private sector clients in administrative actions and/or investigations before or by the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (DOSH actions), the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), the Office of the Labor Commissioner, and the United States Department of Labor (DOL).
 
J.D., University of California, Davis School of Law (1995)
B.A., University of California, Davis (1991)
 
 
 

MARK E. NEWCOMB is Counsel and Vice President – Claims & Insurance, in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.’s Americas, Canada and the Caribbean Home Office (Norfolk, Virginia), where he supervises all legal affairs, risk management, and regulatory programs related to ZIM’s marine and inland operations throughout the region.
 
Prior to joining ZIM, he spent five years with CMA CGM (America) as Legal Counsel / Safety & Security Officer and was counsel with DAVEY & BROGAN, P.C., a maritime and admiralty firm in Norfolk, Virginia for seven years. A 1981 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he served as a Line Officer until his transfer to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 1988, after receiving his J.D. from the College of William and Mary School of Law. From then until his retirement in 2001, Mark served in various staff and operational billets, including assignment as the principal legal advisor to Commander, Battle Force SEVENTH Fleet and on the International Law faculty of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School.
 
A member of the Bar of the Commonwealth of Virginia since 1988, Mark is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Supreme Court of Virginia, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a Proctor Member of and serves on the Board of Directors of the Maritime Law Association of the United States. Mark is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the College of William and Mary School of Law, lecturing on National Security Law and Terrorism and the Law.
 
Mark and his wife, Joni, have lived in Williamsburg since 1998 and have three grown children.
 

Pamela A. Palmer is a Member in the Los Angeles office of Clark Hill LLP.  She focuses her practice on complex litigation and client advice in maritime, trucking, insurance coverage, and environmental law matters. Pam is a frequent author and speaker on transportation and insurance related issues.

Pam is a past Chair of the American Bar Association's TIPS Admiralty & Maritime Law Committee, a Proctor in Admiralty of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. 

Pam graduated cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law and spends far too much time obsessively checking the latest Gonzaga University basketball news and rankings.
 

Stephanie S. Penninger is a Senior Director, Legal Counsel at XPO Logistics, a publicly traded, Fortune 500 transportation logistics services provider with over 1,500 locations in 32 countries, and over 100,000 employees.  In her role, Stephanie assists XPO in navigating the ever-changing regulatory landscape in the transportation and logistics industry, developing operational best practices and global customer solutions.  Stephanie works close to the business in its performance of freight forwarding, NVOCC, indirect air carrier, and customs brokerage operations.  She also tends to day-to-day legal matters that arise on the domestic side of XPO’s operations.

Stephanie’s expertise in advising on global supply chain legal matters has also proven valuable to industry associations.  For instance, Stephanie is the Immediate Past Chair and a Current Vice President of the American Bar Association’s Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee and a Member-at-Large, serving on the Transportation Lawyers Association’s Executive Committee.  She is also a proud member of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s International Affinity Group and the Transportation Intermediaries Association’s Food Advisory and Carrier Selection Committees.  Stephanie has spoken before various industry groups and their membership throughout North America and written numerous published articles regarding maritime law matters, avoiding and litigating cargo claims and mitigating risk when transporting or arranging the transportation of food.
 

Jeffrey Simmons joined GlobalTranz after spending 30 years in private practice, most recently with the national law firm of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP. He brings 26 years of experience in the transportation industry representing motor, rail, ocean and air carriers as well as brokers, before courts, regulatory agencies and in contract negotiations.

Jeff currently serves as Immediate Past President of the Transportation Lawyers Association and is a past Chairman of the Conference of Freight Counsel. He is also an active member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association.

Jeff has been named in the 2011 through 2016 editions of the Best Lawyers in America® in the field of Transportation Law, and in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Southwest Super Lawyers® in the area of Transportation/Maritime Law. In 2014, he received the Transportation Lawyers Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

Jeff is a 1983 graduate of Georgetown University and a 1986 graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law.

Sarah Sweet is an associate lawyer with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Toronto, Canada and practices in BLG’s Transportation and Shipping Focus Groups specialising in defence work. Within her transportation, insurance, and defence practice, she provides advice to private and public sector clients. She advocates for her clients at all levels of Ontario Courts, in the Federal Court, and in various tribunals. Her experience includes complex casualty matters, truck accidents, and cargo disputes involving multiple parties and interjurisdictional and cross-border issues.
 
In addition to her court experience, Ms. Sweet advises transportation and logistics clients on corporate matters and liability and risk management issues, including drafting of service agreements and contracts, releases and indemnity agreements, governance issues, and labour and employment matters.
 
Prior to joining BLG, Ms. Sweet obtained her juris doctor degree from Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a bachelors degree in Environmental Science with Honours from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
 

Christine L. Weingart provides tax and corporate counsel to individuals and businesses on a variety of matters, including choice of entity, mergers and acquisitions, sales of businesses, reorganizations, tax credit opportunities, and tax controversies. Christine has experience drafting and structuring Limited Partnership Agreements and Operating Agreements, including complex allocation and distribution provisions. She has represented individual taxpayers in coming forward to the IRS with respect to unreported offshore assets.

She is Board Certified in Tax Law by the Florida Bar, and is a member of the Tax Sections of both the Florida Bar and the American Bar Association. Christine has lectured to a broad range of audiences, from business owners to business advisors, on a variety of corporate and tax related matters, including changes under the 2018 Tax Reform, state law legislative updates, the tax consequences of debt workouts and restructurings, and the requirements for qualification as a real estate professional for the passive activity loss rules. She has written for local and national publications on tax and corporate topics. Ms. Weingart has been involved with several charitable organizations in the Central Florida community, including serving as President of the Florida 4-H Club Foundation, Inc.
 
Practice Areas: Corporate/Business Law Tax Education: LL.M. in Taxation, University of Florida Levin College of Law - 2007 J.D. University of Florida, Cum Laude - 2006 B.A. University of Florida, Cum Laude - 2003
 

James A. Wescoe
Partner, Chair of the Commercial Transportation Group
Bachelor of Arts, Temple University 1987
M.A American University, 1989
Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, J.D, 1998
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York