Registration will also be open on Thursday from 4:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Attention New & Young Lawyers - come join your fellow committee members for breakfast prior to the start of the TLI.  Come to the 2nd floor of the hotel and join Kristen Johnson & Greg Reed in the Valencia Room for a meet and greet and a general introduction to the New & Young Lawyer Committee.

There will be a breakfast buffet set up on the 2nd floor for this meeting.

Stevan R. Baxter, Partner, Skoubye Nielson & Johansen LLC,  Salt Lake  City, UT, 2021 TLI Program Co-Chair
J. Allen Jones, Senior Director, Legal  Counsel, XPO  Logistics, Inc., Dublin OH, 2021 TLI Program Co-Chair
Steven M. Canty,  Partner, Orleans Canty  Novy,  LLC,  Chicago, IL, Transportation Lawyers Association President
 

The mega-container ship Ever Given’s blockage of the Suez Canal is a case study on the chain liability issues flowing from an international transportation disaster. The International Trade and Transportation Committee will lead a discussion on responding to international transportation disasters including such issues as government civil and criminal investigations into the disaster; strategies and defenses against claims for damages brought by governments, private third-parties and subrogated insurers; potentially liable parties; insurance coverage and other issues and employing crisis management measures to avoid reputational harm. This program will be presented by a panel including an attorney who represented many of the cargo owners on the Ever Given ship, an in-house attorney from one of the leading aviation insurance companies that deals with air disasters, an in-house attorney from a leading logistics company and a moderator. Each perspective will help our members to be better prepared to address and advise clients on any type of high-profile transportation disaster that occurs, whether it be international or domestic.

 

The panel will provide a brief review of cargo claims liability and pre-emption (under Carmack and FAAAA) including case law updates. The discussion will then focus on various claims that are often asserted in conjunction with cargo claims, but which fall outside the traditional scope of those claims such as delay damages and consequential damages.

The panel will discuss the liability of different parties including brokers and carriers, and
strategies for responding to claims for both parties.
 

The Casualty Litigation Committee will lead a discussion on avoiding nuclear verdicts. The presenters will discuss strategies to defeat the plaintiff’s playbook of driving up the value on any case. In many instances, the plaintiffs’ bar is outworking the defense bar. It is critical to spot the weaknesses in your case at a very early stage, such as a bad venue, spoliation issues, DOT compliance problems, a lax safety program, post-accident driver discipline, bad witnesses, etc. The panel will offer critical insight on how to develop the right strategy to combat these problems using the best resources available.
 

This year’s ethics presentation will feature something a little different! Our multinational panel will focus on a variety of the practice issues facing lawyers today, and some prime examples of what not to do. In addition to canvassing ethics issues around modern practice in the COVID-19 era, the panel will also discuss ethics and practice issues from each of their national perspectives – including some of the more infamous stories to come out of each one! Join us for what should be an interesting take on professional ethics – or, as we’ll see, the lack thereof.
 

The Corporate Committee will discuss considerations in the post-COVID-19 shutdown world.  Vaccinated business travelers who want to Fly Away (Lenny Kravitz) will have to evaluate business travel. Companies, executives, and those who seek to grow their business will have to evaluate the low percentage threat of COVID against the benefits of personal interactions and networking. The question will be: Should I stay, or should I go?   (The Clash). Will profitable business travel resume to pre-COVID levels?  How can suppliers, air carriers (air cargo, commercial, and general aviation), and investors in the industry, and its suppliers, adapt to the post-COVID era?
 

The Biden Administration has made several changes to labor and employment laws that impact the transportation industry. The Labor and Human Resources Committee will lead a fast-paced discussion reviewing the many changes already implemented, changes to look for in the future, and how these changes will impact employers and employees in our field.