Speakers

Louis Amato-Gauci is a partner with Miller Thomson LLP and co-chair of its national transportation and logistics industry team. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Faculty of Arts and Science (B.A., 1995) and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (J.D., 1998). He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2000. Louis serves as lead counsel in private company mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance transactions and reorganizations. He provides strategic advice to clients in the air, road and rail modes of transportation and the warehousing and logistics sectors with regard to regulatory compliance, licensing and safety matters, customs and international trade. He is frequently consulted in connection with carrier, freight intermediary, warehousing and logistics contracts. Louis is the second vice president of the TLA, president of the Association of Transportation Law Professionals, and a past-president of the Canadian Transport Lawyers Association. He has been recognized as a leading practitioner of transportation law (aviation, road and rail) by Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Best Lawyers in Canada, and Chambers and Partners. He received the TLA's Distinguished Service Award in 2015. 

Mark Andrews counsels providers and users of transportation services on business, regulatory and judicial matters. With more than 40 years of experience in Washington D.C., and with undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University, Mark focuses his practice on the transportation and logistics industry. 

He counsels carriers and their customers of all sizes, acting as advisor and advocate on a wide variety of issues and projects, including: 

• Conflicts between federal and state laws, 

• Transportation mergers and acquisitions, 

• Transportation safety regulation, 

• Drafting and negotiation of master service agreements, and 

• Disputes over international transportation services. 

Mark has extensive experience in negotiating and drafting complex nationwide and international logistics and supply chain management contracts. These agreements have brought predictable pricing and enabled measurable service improvements across a wide variety of industries and almost all transportation modes. Mark also has delivered regulatory and federal preemption opinions required for the closing of transportation mergers and acquisitions worth billions of dollars and has obtained necessary regulatory approvals for such transactions. 

Throughout his career, Mark has made presentations before a variety of bar and trade associations, as an adjunct law professor and at in-house client seminars on the regulatory changes made by significant Federal transportation legislation. In his current role as co-chair of the federal regulatory committee of the Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA), he helps alert the supply-chain bar on the ever-changing requirements of Federal transportation safety regulations. 

Andrew Boyle is co-president of Boyle Transportation, a firm that provides secure, validated transportation & logistics services to select clients in the biotech/pharmaceutical and government/defense sectors. Boyle is now a subsidiary of Andlauer Healthcare Group, a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed provider of diversified healthcare logistics services. Prior to returning to the company in 2003, Andrew was an investment banker with J.P. Morgan. He earned an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and an AB from Bowdoin College, where his academic performance was undistinguished and his athletic career was underwhelming.  

Andrew is 2nd vice chair of the American Trucking Associations and a member of the American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) board of directors and of Northwestern University Transportation Center’s business advisory committee. He’s also a trustee of Eastern Bank and serves on boards and committees of several non-profit organizations including House of Hope and The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. He is a three time winner of the KGC’s “4th Best Looking Man” award. 

Kris is an associate at Benesch where he focuses his practice on complex corporate and technology transactions, intellectual property protection, data security and privacy, cannabis related corporate and regulatory guidance, and corporate and regulatory assistance in the transportation industry. As a JD/MBA, Kris is trained to not only provide expert legal advice, but also to provide reasonable, practical, and strategically sound business advice to clients. Kris has experience assisting clients that are looking to enter new business ventures, clients that are looking to expand current business ventures, and clients that are looking to strategically exit current business ventures.

Heather Devine is the CLO of TRAFFIX, Chair of the TLA Aviation Committee, and one of Canada’s leading Transportation lawyers. Featured in Best Lawyers® Canada for Transportation Law since 2014, Heather has appeared at all levels of Federal and Provincial Courts in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Alberta.  

For over 20 years, Heather has defended her clients in provincial, appellate, and federal courts. Heather has led international and national legal teams to success in a variety of business disputes. With years of cross-border experience, Heather ‘Canadianized’ the TIA shipper-broker, broker-carrier agreements as part of her work on their Contract Committee. Her combined interest in technology, transportation and intellectual property enables her to advise her clients on all aspects of supply chain logistics and the movement of goods locally and internationally.  

A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Heather authors the Legal Column for Private Motor Carrier Magazine. She has also held several leadership positions, including President of the CTLA in 2020, faculty member at the IADC Trial Academy at Stanford University, and Chair of the IADC Transportation Committee—for which she received the Joan Fullam Irick Award honouring her exceptional leadership.  

Heather holds an M.A. in Journalism from Carleton University and a J.D. from Queen’s University. She was admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1998 and the Ontario Bar in 1999.  

When Heather isn't defending her clients, she can be found riding her Kawasaki Ninja, flying a C-152, or the Pitts Special S-2A. 

Robert Ernest has over 20 years of experience in the transportation and logistics industry, both international and domestic, with an expertise in managing a diverse range of corporate and regulatory issues, including complex commercial agreements, import/export regulatory issues, global trade compliance and investigations, aviation and maritime regulatory matters, and risk and insurance matters. Currently Bob is Senior Counsel, Transportation & Logistics at Medtronic plc, which is a global leader in medical technology, services, and solutions. Bob supports Medtronic’s Global Operations & Supply Chain function, providing legal, regulatory, and business counsel to the company’s direct and indirect sourcing teams.

Before Medtronic, Bob was a Partner in the Boston office of ArentFox Schiff LLP, where his clients included parties throughout the supply chain, including importers and exporters of goods, international freight forwarders, customs house brokers, motor carriers, property brokers, and warehouse operators. Before ArentFox, Bob was general counsel of the Americas region of The Panalpina Group, a Swiss-based global freight forwarder. As an executive team member at Panalpina, Bob was deeply involved in company strategy and provided legal, business, and risk management advice to C-level decision makers. Bob also served as Corporate Counsel – North America for Kuehne + Nagel Inc., and as an attorney for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bob received his undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (1995) and his law degree from Suffolk University Law School (1998) in Boston. He is member of both the Massachusetts and Connecticut bars.
 

An admiralty lawyer since 1984, Attorney Dave Farrell's passion for maritime commerce began in high school when he worked at a Cape Cod boatyard. He ran a tour boat during college summers and later fished commercially up to 100 miles offshore in 30-36 foot vessels. He also has time at sea on tugs, ferries, container ships, and oil tankers.

Having personally evaded multiple maritime casualties, Attorney Farrell’s practice primarily involves litigating them, typically for the defense on appointment by marine insurers, international and domestic. Because in our business evidence can disappear with the ebbing tide, our office is available 24/7 to attend casualty scenes, appoint marine surveyors and forensic experts, and deal with government authorities so cases can be intelligently managed with positive results for our client from the outset.

With trial and appellate court victories from Alaska to New England, Attorney Farrell is a frequent speaker and author on maritime law and public policy and is recognized as a leading maritime law expert on the Offshore Wind Industry and the Jones Act. Proudly serving 2020-2022 as President of The Maritime Law Association of the United States, Attorney Farrell was recently presented the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant's Distinguished Public Service Award.​

A Titulary Member of the Comité Maritime International, Attorney Farrell also serves as an advisor to the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. International Maritime Organization.  

John K. Fiorilla is a Partner at the firm of Dyer & Peterson PC in Parsippany and Riverton, N.J. He earned his J.D. degree from Georgetown Law Center in 1974 and a BA in Government in 1971 from Seton Hall University. He is admitted to the bar of the State of New Jersey, the Surface Transportation Board, the US Court of Claims, 17 US District Courts, 3 US Courts of appeal and the US Supreme Court. Mr. Fiorilla served as an Officer in the Army Reserve Transportation Corp. Today, Mr. Fiorilla serves as vice-Chair of the General Counsel Committee of the American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association and has recently served as chair of the Law Committee of the American Railway Development Association. He serves as General Counsel for the Morristown & Erie Railway where it's locomotive #22 is named the John K. Fiorilla. He has been representing railroads and railroad interests since 1975 when he joined the Central RR Co. of NJ (CNJ) as Assistant General Attorney. He served as Senior General Attorney of Miscellaneous Litigation for Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) from 1976 until 1990. Since that time, he has been in private practice representing railroads and railroad interests. 

Senior Legal Counsel
California Western School of Law, 2005
State Bar of California (inactive) and Law Society of Alberta
Interim Communications Director for the CTLA; volunteer and board committee member for Calgary Legal Guidance
 

Kathleen C. Jeffries, a partner with Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, LLP in Pasadena, California, has over 38 years of experience in the practice of business litigation, contracts and general transportation law. With an emphasis on freight claim and freight charge litigation, she represents motor carriers, freight forwarders and property brokers, among other transportation entities, in civil litigation, regulatory and transportation-related misdemeanor proceedings, contract development and general business counsel.  

Ms. Jeffries is past president of the Transportation Lawyers Association; is a recipient of TLA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Distinguished Service Award and Special Presidential Commendation for Leadership and Mentorship. In addition, Ms. Jeffries is an active member of the Conference of Freight Counsel (having served as Vice Chair and Chair), the Transportation & Logistics Council and the Association of Transportation Law Professionals (past president, Southern California Chapter).  

She is AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability; is recognized as a “Top Rated Lawyer in Transportation” by Martindale-Hubbell™ and American Lawyer Media; and has been selected as one of the top Southern California lawyers in the Southern California Super Lawyers Peer Survey Selection.  

She is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach, (BA, 1980) and University of California, Los Angeles, (JD, 1983). 

Alex Karcher is an attorney with the Columbus, Ohio office of Roetzel & Andress, L.P.A.

His practice is focused on the modern supply chain, assisting transportation and logistics clients in a wide array of matters, including regulatory and compliance, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (and state equivalent) audit representation, safety consulting, contract review and drafting – such as broker-carrier, shipper-carrier, independent contractor/owner operator, and warehousing agreements – and obtainment of state and federal motor carrier and brokerage authorities. In addition, a large portion of Alex’s practice involves transactional matters, including due diligence work specific to transactions involving significant transportation components.

Having handled a variety of business-to-business and transportation-related cases, such as prosecution and defense of Carmack claims, and employment disputes, Alex is also an experienced litigator in state and federal courts throughout the country, and is currently admitted to the bar in Ohio and Wisconsin, and admitted to the Northern and Southern District Courts of Ohio, the Western District Court of Michigan, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Alex is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
 

Andrea Little Limbago is a computational social scientist specializing in the intersection of geopolitics, geoeconomics, and evolving technologies. As the Senior Vice President of Research and Analysis at Interos, Andrea leads the company’s research and computational modeling of global supply chain risk. Prior to Interos, she taught conflict studies and political economy in academia, was a technical lead in the Department of Defense, and was the Chief Social Scientist at several cybersecurity startups. Andrea is also a Co-Program Director for the Emerging Tech and Cybersecurity Program at the National Security Institute at George Mason University, an industry advisory board member for the data science program at George Washington University, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center, and a board member for the Washington, DC chapter of Women in Security and Privacy (WISP). Andrea earned a PhD in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a BA from Bowdoin College.

Angela Russell is the regional managing partner of the Baltimore office and chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee. She also serves on Wilson Elser’s Executive Committee.  She has significant trial experience and has tried cases in the District of Columbia and across the state of Maryland.  Angela’s practice includes claims involving issues of premises liability, trucking and automobile liability, many of which involve catastrophic injuries and property damage. Angela regularly handles and supervises general casualty matters for insurers and self-insured entities on premises liability claims, security matters, hospitality cases and recreational defense claims. Her practice also encompasses the defense of professional liability matters, including medical malpractice and legal malpractice actions in addition to claims against agents, brokers and other professionals.
 
Angela served as an adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law and is a frequent speaker on issues related to health care law and litigation. She is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been selected for inclusion in Maryland Super lawyers from 2015 to 2022 as well as in Best Lawyers in America from 2018 to 2022. She was also selected as one of the Most Influential Black Lawyers by Savoy magazine in 2015, 2018 and 2022. Angela has served on the Maryland’s Judicial Nominating Commission since 2016, when she was appointed by Maryland Governor Hogan. She also is Co-Chair of the Maryland Chapter of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.
 

Alejandro García Seimandi is an Attorney at Law graduated from the Escuela Libre de Derecho in 1996. Founder and Managing Partner of García Seimandi y Asociados, S.C., a firm specialized in Mexican international trade and customs matters, established in 2004. His practice is devoted to free trade agreements, tariff classification, customs valuation, maquila operations, antidumping fees, cross-border paperless trade and health regulations. He has more than 20 years of experience advising, reviewing compliance, and representing clients in administrative and judicial proceedings. He is a member of the Mexican Bar, the Mexican Corporate Counsel Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Foreign Trade Committee of the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants. He has been member of the Board of the Mexican Corporate Counsel Association, the Tariff Classification Council of the Mexican Tax Administration Service, and a dispute resolution panel under Chapter XIX of the North America Free Trade Agreement. He has been Chair of the Foreign Trade and Customs Committee of the National Chamber of Industry. He has taught and given conferences on trade and customs topics at various universities and associations in Mexico and the United States of America, including the National Association of Importers and Exporters, the U.S.- Mexico Law Institute, the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and the Society for Corporate Compliance and Ethics. Coauthor of the books "Conocimientos Básicos de Comercio Exterior" and "Consultor en Aduanas y Comercio Exterior". He has published articles in Mexican specialized magazines and newspapers as El Economista and Excélsior.

Jeff Simmons serves as the Senior Vice President of Legal and Risk for the combined companies of GlobalTranz, Worldwide Express and Unishippers. Before the merger of the companies in July 2021, Jeff had served as Chief Legal Officer of GlobalTranz since March 2016.  Jeff joined GlobalTranz after spending 30 years in private practice, most recently with the national law firm of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP.  While in private practice, he represented motor, rail, ocean and air carriers, as well as brokers, before courts, regulatory agencies and in contract negotiations. 
 
Jeff completed his one-year term as President of the Transportation Lawyers Association in May 2020 and is a past Chairman of the Conference of Freight Counsel.   
 
While in private practice, Jeff was named in the Best Lawyers in America^® in the field of Transportation Law and in Southwest Super Lawyers^® in the area of Transportation/Maritime Law.  In 2014, he received the Transportation Lawyers Association’s Distinguished Service Award.  Jeff received First Chair’s Top General Counsel Award in 2017. 
 
Jeff is a 1983 graduate of Georgetown University and a 1986 graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law. 
 

Daniel R. Sonneborn is a negotiator and litigator whose clients include those in professional services and regulated industries like transportation, insurance, health care, financial services, and construction. Dan’s counsel ranges in focus from professional liability and risk mitigation to multi-jurisdictional class actions. Dan has developed a particular interest in transportation law, and represents motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and insurance companies in transportation-related matters and litigation, including cargo loss and damage, warehousing, contractual issues, and employment matters. Despite his upbringing in a family of medical providers, Dan found his professional path in law school, where he was able to combine his generational connection to medicine with his passion for problem-solving. He served as Managing Editor of Suffolk Law’s Journal of Health and Biomedical Law, and continues to advise healthcare professionals to this day. His deep New England roots are reflected in his experience appearing in state and federal courts in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Dan works in Preti’s Boston office and lives in Medford, Massachusetts with his wife and two children. 

Lisa Stephenson is General Counsel for CRST, headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she is responsible for all legal matters of CRST, including litigation management, business transactions, employment law, regulatory compliance, corporate/governance matters, and high-level risk management. Prior to joining CRST six years ago, Lisa was a member of the Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman law firm in Cedar Rapids where she focused on employment and commercial litigation. Lisa also served as a law clerk in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa. Lisa earned her law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law. 

Evelyn M. Suarez brings an in-depth knowledge of global supply chains and international commerce to the table.  She works with companies engaged in international trade, particularly related to customs, trade policy and anti-corruption. Clients include, among others, U.S. manufacturers importing inputs, transportation and logistics companies and U.S. ports. She has litigated cases in the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, and has assisted clients on legislative matters.  She has handled high profile investigations by various U.S. Congressional committees and by the U.N., leading a team of legal, accounting and government and public relations professionals. Her legal career began as a government lawyer at the U.S. International Trade Commission and at U.S. Customs. Evelyn is a thought leader who volunteers her time as an Advisor to both George Washington Univ. and Georgetown Univ. Law Center on matters concerning international business and law.  She also served as President of the Association of Women in International Trade as well as on the board of the Virginia Maritime Association.  

She received a B.A in Anthropology from Douglass College, Rutgers University and Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of the DC Bar. She has a Martindale-Hubbell Judicial AV rating and is consistently listed in The Best Lawyers in America for International Trade and as a “Super Lawyer” in International Trade law in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers magazine. 

Katherine Tenzinger is a Partner in the Commercial Transportation Group at Weber Gallagher. She represents national motor carriers, brokers, and drivers across the full spectrum of possible liability claims in the trucking industry. She handles matters involving accident-related claims alleging personal injury, catastrophic loss, property damage, and cargo liability claims. Katherine is admitted to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey state and federal bars. Her admissions to the New York state and federal bars are pending. She graduated from The George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs in 2012. She obtained her Juris Doctor from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law in 2015. 

Tom is an attorney in the New York offices of the Wilson Elser Law Firm. Wilson Elser is a full service law firm with more than 900 attorneys and offices in most major markets.  

Tom has been successfully litigating complex transportation-related negligence, product liability and commercial matters for over 30 years. An engineer as well as a lawyer, Tom routinely consults with transportation providers and manufacturers as to operational and product safety issues. He has lectured extensively on these topics in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.  

Tom has tried cases in more than a dozen states, and has defended clients in almost every state. He frequently coordinates clients’ defenses of generic claims and “pattern litigation” around the country. While he is admitted to the New York State Bar, he has been admitted pro hac vice in Alaska, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington State and Washington D.C.  

For the past 15 years, Tom has been extensively involved in counseling clients that become parties to NTSB investigations arising out of calamities of all sorts, including highway, rail, marine, aviation and pipeline accidents. Tom has assisted many transportation providers and manufacturers in NTSB investigations.  

Tom is widely published concerning NTSB investigations and has given dozens of related lectures and seminars before transportation providers, manufacturers and component part suppliers. Chambers has ranked Tom in their "Tier 1" for his NTSB work.  

Tom and his wife live in Rye, New York, one of the northern suburbs of New York City. His three children are all out of the house, the two oldest with careers in Boston and San Francisco and the youngest just beginning a career as an Investigative Counsel with the Senate Finance Committee in Washington, D.C. When Tom is not actively litigating or assisting companies in NTSB investigations, he is frequently off the northeast coast sailing or racing his F&C 44 ketch with family, friends and sometimes clients as well. He has completed three Newport-to-Bermuda races, over 1,200 open-ocean miles for each race and return (he holds a 50-ton U.S. Coast Guard Master’s License). 

Co-Founder & Chief Experience Officer 

Corey White is a proven security industry veteran with more than twenty-five years of success managing security practices and consulting teams. His work encompasses virtually every industry, including government, critical infrastructure, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Corey has created Cyvatar.AI to enable vendor partners to deliver reliable, repeatable, and measurable business outcomes to clients. Corey also served as the SVP of Worldwide Consulting and Chief Experience Officer at Cylance as well as the Southwest Director of Consulting for Foundstone & McAfee/Intel Professional Services. 

Gene F. Zipperle Jr., Member of Ward Hocker Thornton PLLC. Gene is licensed to practice law in Kentucky (1988) and Indiana (1989). Gene has litigated in the state and federal courts of Indiana and Kentucky and other states. His current practice focuses on all aspects of transportation litigation, insurance coverage litigation, and surety and fidelity. Gene is a member of the Louisville Bar Association, Kentucky Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association, the American Bar Association TIPS, Kentucky Defense Counsel, ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, Defense Research Institute Fidelity and Surety and Trucking Law Committees, the Conference of Freight Counsel, and the Transportation Lawyers Association and a Distinguished Service Award recipient.

Dr. Zolock is a consulting mechanical engineer at Exponent Inc, working out of their Natick Massachusetts office. Dr. Zolock has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Dr. Zolock specializes in automobile, bus, pedestrian, bicycle, heavy truck, and rail vehicle accident investigation and reconstruction. Over the past 15 years at Exponent he has worked on more than 800 transportation accidents throughout the U.S. He has worked with clients at all stages of transportation accident response starting as soon as an hour after the crash event all the way to the defense of criminal, personal injury, and product liability claims at trial. He has been qualified as an Accident Reconstruction Expert in State and Federal courts.