PRACTICE AREAS

Eckert Seamans’ Trucking & Logistics Practice is centered on helping its clients address the challenges of a constantly changing regulatory, economic and competitive environment while shipping cargo over multiple forms of infrastructure at wide-ranging volumes.  Because the firm’s clients operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week, the firm is prepared to be of assistance when and where they need us.

Firm attorneys have represented clients in situations involving: corporate finance, catastrophic accident investigation and defense, litigation, labor and employment issues, insurance, contracts, and procurement.

Trucking Industry Experience

The firm’s range of experience involving trucking and logistics matters is broad, including:

• Defending heavy truck (tractor trailers, dump trucks, package delivery vans, delivery trucks and school buses) crashworthiness cases and litigation;
• Work with accident reconstruction experts, biomechanics and design engineers;
• Work with researchers  who are experts on heavy truck crashworthiness as well as governmental dockets;
• Collaboration with Exponent Engineers who have conducted the heavy truck crashworthiness crash and static test research program that was the subject of SAE recommended practices;
• U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, hours of service requirements, record keeping, driver’s logs, driver qualifications, and drug testing requirements;
• Long-haul, less-than-truck-load, and full-load carriers;
• Loading and off-loading incidents, accidents and issues;
• Representation of clients in connection with fuel/axle tax audit and federal cases that involved allegations of rest period violations, HAZMAT violations, Universal Commercial Code bill of landing issues, trucking regulations and intermodal transportation regulations;
• Cargo claims and disputes between consignees and consignors; and
• Union negotiations and maintaining a union-free workplace.

Eckert Seamans’ Rapid Response Teams

Eckert Seamans has established its own Rapid Response Teams of legal professionals ready to provide concentrated support as needed and where needed within its Eastern United States footprint of operation.  The firm has established a network of legal and non-legal professional support in the event of an accident at any time of day. 

The firm is prepared to send its attorneys, engineers and other professionals to the site of an accident within two hours of the event.  While on site, they can provide the necessary resources to collect facts, interview witnesses, and if need be commence with accident reconstruction.  If required, the firm can also tap HAZMAT firms to remediate environmental situations, and criminal defense counsel if necessary.

Industry Leadership

Eckert Seamans attorneys have served in a variety of leadership capacities in the trucking sector.  They have served actively in leadership of the Transportation Lawyers Association, serving on the Executive Committee and Chair of the ADR Committee, and in receipt of the association’s Distinguished Service Award.  They have served as in-house counsel on the client side and at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Hearings, where the work involved driver limits of hours of service and the Code of Federal Regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Our attorneys have served as counsel to the American Trucking Association, involved with administrative and computer technology contracting affairs, and have tailored training sessions for in-house counsel, human resource professionals and other front-line employees on important legal issues confronting trucking and logistics operations.

Eckert Seamans attorneys have represented clients before the U.S. Department of Transportation, the American Trucking Association (ATA), the U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Interstate Commerce Commission, Congress, various state departments and agencies, and the state and federal courts.  We know the challenges our clients face because Eckert Seamans attorneys have been there before, on both sides of the table.  They are committed to doing whatever is necessary to provide clients with the highest quality, most insightful and effective legal support possible.

A Multidisciplinary Approach

In addition to the firm’s representation of trucking companies, providing ongoing business-related legal support and litigation representation, the firm regularly taps its resources in the area of Labor and Employment, and in the area of Product Liability.

Employment matters have involved wage and hour issues, discrimination claims, independent contractor disputes and policy administration.  Firm attorneys have experience with employment-related dispute resolution, such as representing the client in cases where claims are filed over interpretation of collective bargaining agreements.  In addition, firm attorneys have represented clients in NLRB proceedings and related appellate work, collective bargaining, labor arbitrations, union avoidance training, and guidance through union organizing campaigns.

Product liability situations have involved allegations of the failure of equipment and failure to warn issues.