To add value across our clients’ operations, we’ve assembled a versatile cross-practice team of attorneys, all with significant experience advising distribution, transportation and logistics companies. We offer responsive, outcome-focused support through the following services:

• Providing legal advice relating to a variety of corporate transactions such as contracts, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, purchases, sales, and taxation.
• Providing guidance to public and corporate Boards and staff.
• Assisting in the procurement of financing to fund new and ongoing development.
• Advising on project development and the construction of facilities, including contract drafting and administration, bid disputes and contract claims and litigation.
• Negotiating lease and purchase agreements for property, equipment and carriers.
• Handling negotiations or disputes with shippers, freight forwarders, brokers or warehousemen.
• Negotiating collective bargaining agreements and handling all aspects of labor relations.
• Representing employers in all facets of employment law, including drafting employment policies, advising on day-to-day personnel issues and representing employers in state and federal litigation.
• Advising companies on grant writing and issues involving land use and zoning, permitting, right-of-way and related issues before government agencies.
• Protecting clients’ brands through copyright and trademarks.
• Counseling clients on the latest advancements of blockchain technology and implementing digital currency use in the logistics industry.
• Developing and implementing risk avoidance and management strategies with respect to corporate structure, insurance requirements and captive insurance arrangements.

Maintaining compliance with state and federal law is paramount to the success of our transportation and logistics industry clients. Our attorneys routinely advise clients on all aspects of national, state and local compliance, including:

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations
• Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) regulations and grants
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations
• Risk management and safety program development
• Federal and state licensing requirements
• Drug and alcohol testing practices
• Employee handbooks and employment practices
• Environmental regulations
• Financing regulations
• Agency policy, rules and regulation

Our international trade attorneys work with clients to develop customized internal policies and procedures that aid company directors, officers, owners and employees in their efforts to comply with international trade regulations. We advise on the following:

• U.S. export controls, including the international traffic in arms regulations (“ITAR”), export administration regulations (“EAR”), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and anti-boycott legislation.
• U.S. sanctions and embargos administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).
• Customs law (from tariff classification to valuation), marking and duty preference regimes, including NAFTA, CAFTA and other free trade agreements.

We also counsels clients on all aspects of Customs laws and import regulations, including ways to maximize import margins through classification and valuation and resolve potentially problematic Customs’ audits, shipment holds and penalty notices.

Our attorneys also excel in navigating clients through the complex regulatory terrain of governing exports. We assist clients in accurately classifying and obtaining export licenses for their product lines; establishing export compliance plans; and creatively and comprehensively remedying any export-related risks, investigations, violations and administrative penalties.

Our attorneys have the knowledge, skill and experience to effectively meet our commercial transportation clients’ general litigation needs whenever disputes or claims arise in any area of  their operations. Our attorneys recognize that understanding our clients’ business and the industries they serve is paramount to efficient dispute avoidance and resolution solutions. Whether in complex, high-stakes, multijurisdictional disputes in the courtroom or in strategy meetings in a conference room, we bring innovative, timely and strategic advice to help solve complex legal issues to achieve our clients’ business goals.

Our dedicated transportation liability defense lawyers are always on-call to assist clients in the first minutes and hours after a serious accident. With our multi-disciplinary team of accident reconstruction experts and other consultants at the ready, we protect our clients’ interests from the very outset of a liability claim.

Our team has successfully managed, resolved and defended hundreds of claims at every level, from property damage and minor injuries to catastrophic losses and multiple fatalities, for which we obtained results favorable to our clients. Our experience in evaluating all aspects of a claim and our aggressive approach to pre-litigation management results in the prompt, fair and cost-efficient resolution of claims.

We are active in the logistics industry across all of the firm’s markets, and our team is attuned to the latest industry developments, challenges and predictions. We help businesses stay up to speed on everything from new compliance requirements to new competitors and new technologies.

Our attorneys are also active members of major trade associations and other industry groups that are on the cutting-edge of issues impacting you and your operation:

• Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA)
• National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC)
• Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA)
• North American Transportation Employee Relations Associations
• Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association ISC&RA)
• American Trucking Association
• Ohio Trucking Association
• Indiana Trucking Association

Finally, through Frost Brown Todd’s LogisticsConnect, we provide a forum for critical dialogue and networking on insights, forecasts and advancements for this burgeoning industry. With an agenda targeted to company leaders in the supply chain, transportation, retail and logistics workforce sectors, the event is strategically held in Columbus, Ohio, which, as a U.S. hotspot for logistics, is a natural junction for key industry players.