Lane Powell has a long-standing international reputation for excellence in the field of transportation. The Firm’s highly trained and skilled attorneys handle complex transactional and litigation matters for aviation, rail, motor carriers, and marine clients. The Lane Powell transportation team is experienced in representing 
clients in all United States federal and state courts and in administrative proceedings before governmental and regulatory agencies. The Lane Powell team members have a thorough knowledge of transportation laws and regulations. The Firm’s attorneys are well-versed in the interplay of state, federal and local laws and regulations as well as client obligations pursuant to international conventions and treaties.
The Firm’s transportation team members frequently lecture on current transportation issues, actively participate in key industry and professional transportation organizations, and publish scholarly articles in prestigious publications. Several of our attorneys have been recognized by their peers for outstanding achievements in the transportation field. Our transportation attorneys also possess an in-depth knowledge of mass transit issues, the unique field of motor sports, space law, drone counseling, satellite litigation, products liability, emerging technologies and automotive fleet transport.
The Lane Powell transportation team is augmented by the resources of a full-service law firm. The Firm’s resources enable Lane Powell transportation attorneys to provide advice on federal and state tax, real estate, antitrust advice, corporate advice, mergers and acquisitions, D & O liability, investigations by the Department of Justice, labor and employment advice, environmental advice and litigation, bankruptcy, financial institutions and insurance coverage advice. Lane Powell is a leader in the transportation field with the ability to provide clear and cost-effective advice for its clients in the transportation industry.
Aviation
Lane Powell is one of the world’s leading law firms focusing on aircraft transactions for both commercial airlines and business clients around the globe. Among the Firm’s clients are:
Several U.S. and foreign airlines.
A number of Fortune 100, Fortune 500 and smaller companies who either own or are contemplating corporate aircraft.
More than 200 individuals who own business-class planes as a lifestyle matter.
Key domestic and foreign leasing companies involved with commercial aircraft transactions.
A select group of banks offering leasing and related financial products for the airline industry.
Engineering and manufacturing suppliers to Boeing or Airbus or both.
Lane Powell’s aviation law attorneys are skilled at counseling clients in the early stages of contemplating an aircraft purchase, through the aircraft-identification stage — including evaluating the worldwide inventory of pre-owned aircraft — executing the purchase and then accepting delivery of the purchased plane.
Lane Powell attorneys have experience negotiating purchase agreements with manufacturers and lenders to achieve advantageous terms for the Firm’s clients. They also can negotiate maintenance service agreements with management companies to keep planes in good working order and even to supply the crews, when necessary.
Commercial Aviation Law
At least half of Lane Powell’s commercial aviation activity is international, with its attorneys frequently serving as lead counsel for a principal party to the transaction, either on the purchase or the financing of an aircraft. The Firm also regularly acts as local counsel for United States and Washington state law.
Lane Powell attorneys often advise foreign airlines and their financiers on all aspects of U.S. federal tax and aviation law, as well as the implication of U.S. bankruptcy and insolvency laws, and state commercial and tax law. They further assist in:
Obtaining required Department of Transportation economic authority and Part 121, 129 or 135 operating authority from the FAA.
Advising individual and corporate aircraft owners and operators in regard to the operating structure for commercial charter — or for private, not-for-hire transportation — to comply with FAA regulations while meeting their business objectives.
Counseling in the aircraft parts, maintenance and modification areas with contract, FAA compliance — including obtaining Supplemental Type Certificates — and financial issues.
Lane Powell attorneys have served as principal counsel in transactions involving aircraft ranging from small general-aviation aircraft up to the Boeing 747-800 and the Boeing 787 VIP aircraft. They also have advised aircraft operators and owners on issues involving domestic and international airlines operating rules and regulations, as well as on local airport and community noise restrictions.
Aviation and Aerospace Litigation
Lane Powell’s skilled litigation attorneys have decades of experience representing aviation businesses in lawsuits and regulatory matters. They work with domestic and international manufacturers, airport authorities, airlines, suppliers, repairers and operators in all phases of tort and contract litigation, ranging from multi-district air disaster and class action cases, to contract and insurance disputes over sales, repairs, leases, concessions, procurement, and parts, to defense of regulatory enforcement actions, to bodily injury lawsuits. Lane Powell’s Aviation Practice Group combines its substantial knowledge of the workings of the aviation and aerospace industry with top-notch litigation and trial skills to achieve the best possible outcomes, and provide the best possible advice to its clients.
Drones, Satellites and Space Law
The Firm’s Aviation Team has expertise in regulatory requirements for the operation of private and commercial drones. In addition, Lane Powell’s attorneys have significant experience in satellite litigation as well as space law.
Aircraft Transactions
Lane Powell’s Aviation Team represents U.S. and international clients in the full range of aviation transactions. We handle purchases, sales and financings — primarily planning, structuring and execution — for businesses, high net worth individuals and families, airlines, and financial institutions around the world.
Our team assists business and general aviation clients (purchasers, sellers and financiers) with purchases, sales, loans and other financing transactions, operating leases, financing leases, synthetic leases, joint ownership and
fractional ownership programs, like-kind exchanges, owner-trust arrangements, cross-border transactions (including import and export of aircraft to and from the U.S. and most foreign nations), management relationships and charter arrangements. Our transactional work also includes aircraft completion and custom interior services, maintenance matters and the full range of operational issues.
Our attorneys regularly act as Washington legal counsel for airlines and commercial aircraft lenders and lessors in aircraft acquisitions from The Boeing Company, as well as representing commercial aviation clients in disputes with Boeing and other manufacturers.
Our Aviation Team includes several professionals who handle aviation transactions as their main practice area, supported by many more who combine aviation matters with other areas of
expertise. Every aviation transaction is at its core a business deal — and we are all experienced business attorneys who bring great “business” skills to bear on aviation-specific transactions.
Over the past 40 years, our Aviation Team has dealt with all major (and most non-major) makes of general and commercial aircraft ranging from the full Boeing product line (including Boeing Business Jets or head-of-state versions of Boeing aircraft) on down to single-engine private aircraft (with particular emphasis on “float” aircraft) — and nearly everything in between. We have handled transactions touching every continent besides Antarctica.
Our team keeps itself on the forefront of aviation developments — including tax, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation, and other matters such as unmanned aerial vehicles. We actively participate in aviation trade organizations such as the National Business Aviation Association, National Aircraft Finance Association, National Aircraft Resale Association, Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Our attorneys also serve on the Boards of Directors of trade groups, volunteer as officers and general counsel to these organizations, and regularly speak at national aviation-related educational events.
Maritime
The significant international shipping traffic and large port facilities located in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska constitute the backbone of one of the largest maritime industry hubs in the world. For almost a century, Lane Powell has offered one of the largest, most prominent, and dynamic maritime practices on the West Coast. The Firm provides legal services and advice to international and United States clients, including owners and charterers of blue water commercial shipping interests, tug and barge interests, the fishing industry, maritime service providers, recreational vessel interests, port and marina facilities, marine underwriters and lending institutions.
The Firm’s maritime attorneys have skills and expertise to provide services to clients with both transactional and litigation needs. Lane Powell attorneys routinely review and prepare maritime contracts to resolve contractual disputes and purchase assets. The Firm’s maritime attorneys include many highly skilled litigators who are resourceful in seeking the most cost-efficient resolution of a lawsuit. Members of the maritime team have experience in both federal and state courts, including appellate courts, and administrative hearings before government and regulatory agencies. In addition, team members have the expertise to provide rapid assistance in the event of a large marine loss or casualty, or when a maritime attachment or vessel arrest is necessary.
Lane Powell attorneys represent some of the world’s most sophisticated and prestigious businesses, including clients in the following categories:
Large commercial and mega-yacht shipbuilding facilities
Major oil and gas corporate entities and service providers operating in Alaska
Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, London Market Companies and certain P & I Clubs
National and international lending institutions to obtain security interests and enforce maritime liens
Large port, marina and berthing facilities
Marine industry service providers
International ocean carriers and ocean transportation intermediaries
Operators of salvage and deep water recovery vessels
International conservation organization operating fleet of ocean going vessels
Fishing vessels in defense of personal injuries
Owner and operators of special ocean going barges for transportation of bulk cargo
Large cargo interests
In all transactions, the Firm’s attorneys provide careful advice, tailored to the client’s needs with the goal toward resolution of all matters in a cost-effective manner.
Maritime disputes and transactions are often governed by international treaties and conventions as well as federal, state and local laws. Lane Powell maritime attorneys have an international reputation for their exceptional specialized knowledge of the most current controlling laws in each case and providing the highest quality of legal advice. Many members of the Firm’s maritime team have completed special training or have advanced degrees in maritime law. The Firm’s maritime litigators include attorneys with a solid background of trial practice, such as former prosecutors and members of the American College of Trial Attorneys. Many members of the maritime team are Proctor Members of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and maritime committees of the American Bar Association. Members of the maritime team are active leaders in the Association of Transportation Law Professionals.
Attorneys on Lane Powell’s maritime team are frequent lecturers both nationally and internationally on complex maritime legal issues. The Firm’s maritime attorneys often publish scholarly articles in prestigious national and international publications including the Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy, Shipping and Transport Lawyers International, The Journal of Shipping Law published by Lloyd’s of London Press, Tulane Maritime Law Journal, Tulane Law Review, American Bar Association Publication, Seattle Business magazine, and LexisNexis Washington Torts and Personal Injury. Several members of the maritime team serve as advisors to prominent maritime law journals.
Our Firm’s maritime attorneys routinely handle a diverse array of maritime issues, including the following:
Collisions and allisions
Cargo loss and damage and intermodal transport
Defense of claims for personal injury and death by Jones Act seamen and passengers
Ship repairer liability
Oil and hazardous substance spills
Wreck removal and marine contract and voluntary salvage and the law of finds
Preferred ship mortgages, enforcement of maritime liens and arrest proceedings
Charter party disputes and negotiation
Marine insurance coverage analysis
Maritime products liability
Financial transactions and sale of vessels and equipment
Catastrophic marine casualties, including fires, sinking
Limitation of Liability proceedings
Lane Powell has the proven advantage of bringing the full range of the Firm’s experience to its maritime practice, including business acquisitions, international transactions, liens, insurance regulations, consumer protection, liaison with governmental and administrative agencies, corporate formation, tax, real estate, land use, labor and employment problems, antitrust, finance, and potential white collar criminal defense and regulatory compliance issues. The Lane Powell attorneys on the maritime team possess the breadth of knowledge to successfully handle unique and routine maritime transactions to a successful conclusion for the Firm’s clients.
Motor Sports
The Lane Powell Transportation Team possesses unique expertise in the motor sports industry. The Firm is extremely fortunate to have a member with an extraordinary background in
professional racing and as a test driver for numerous manufacturers. The team has unparalleled connections in the market for race cars and other high-value classic automobiles. Our attorneys have the ability to provide specific advice and contract services to discerning clients for the purchase and sale of special vehicles.
In addition, the Firm’s attorneys routinely provide legal advice and prepare contracts for automobile racing and other industry-related events. Our attorneys also draft sponsorship agreements, driver agreements and disclaimers, and contracts with designers, regulatory agencies and/or sanctioning bodies, and vendors of automobile parts and suppliers. Lane Powell’s special skills and breadth of knowledge in the motor sports industry is unsurpassed in the Pacific Northwest.
Railroad and Mass Transportation
Railroads in the Pacific Northwest face challenges confronting the entire transportation industry. Freight and passenger volumes remain flat as fuel prices climb dramatically. Railroads make
strenuous efforts to improve workforce productivity, but must also be able to handle surges in capacity. Federal and state regulations governing railroad operations as well as municipal concerns continue to grow in number and complexity. Moreover, a volatile national economy remains the railroads’ most formidable wildcard.
Likewise, another wheel of the transportation industry — mass transit, also with a strong Northwest presence — faces pressures related to rising fuel, land and equipment costs. While railroads are considered a backbone of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, mass transit regularly meets with more public and governmental scrutiny that can potentially inflate approval, construction and regulatory costs.
Region’s Most Experienced Attorneys in Railroad, Transit Law
Lane Powell represents some of the world’s most prominent freight and passenger railroads, including Amtrak, Union Pacific Railroad Company, BNSF Railway Company and the Alaska Railroad Company. Its range of clients in the industry includes railroads and Northwest shortlines, intermodal operators, marine operators and builders, commuter rail and regional transit entities.
Lane Powell’s Railroad and Mass Transit Law attorneys form the largest and most experienced industry-focused team in the Northwest. As the firm with the longest history of representing railroads in the region, Lane Powell’s level of service has evolved with the industry to offer the most capable and comprehensive legal guidance in everything from condemnation proceedings to labor issues and complex litigation.
Lane Powell also serves a leading role in the region’s most innovative mass transit projects. For example, Lane Powell attorneys were instrumental in achieving a six-mile light rail line from downtown Portland to the Portland International Airport, fully integrated into the metropolitan public transportation system. Financed primarily through the transfer of trackside property development rights to the private developer who constructed the line, the project was developed without new taxes or federal funds.
Lane Powell also is the go-to law firm for complex transactions and cases for Sound Transit, the mass transit service for Central Puget Sound.
Extensive Record of Successful Representation
Lane Powell’s attorneys have successfully defended each of the Firm’s railroad clients in Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) litigation, Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA) litigation and general litigation matters. With extensive trial experience in state and federal courts throughout the Northwest as well as in administrative hearings before governmental and regulatory agencies, Lane Powell attorneys have successfully handled:
Administrative proceedings
Asbestos-related claims
Commercial, personal injury and wrongful death litigation
Condemnations
Construction law claims, including freight claims, vendor disputes and contract claims
Employment law proceedings
Environmental claims and regulatory matters
Freight damage claims
FRSA Whistleblower claims
Grade crossing and pedestrian incidents
With extensive and proven knowledge of transportation law and regulatory requirements, Lane Powell attorneys work with clients to identify and implement solutions without the necessity of court action. In fact, Lane Powell is involved in a major initiative with a railroad client to help the company more efficiently handle litigation on a national scale.
In cases where litigation is in the client’s best interest, however, Lane Powell provides a skilled and aggressive litigation team that has earned the respect of the transportation industry.
Committed to Remaining Current on Industry Issues
Lane Powell attorneys actively participate in key industry associations to remain knowledgeable of current and emerging issues facing the railroad and mass transit industry. These groups include:
National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel at regional and national levels
Association of Transportation Law Practitioners
Transportation Law and Logistics section of the American Bar Association
Lane Powell remains poised to handle the full spectrum of railroad and mass transit legal challenges, from passenger injury and freight damage claims, to employment and environmental law matters, administrative and regulatory proceedings.
Motor Carrier (Truck) Regulation and Compliance
Our Transportation Team has decades of experience representing motor carriers in litigation, regulatory and compliance issues, and transactional matters. The West Coast motor carrier industry connects and services all cargo needs for each of the many port facilities, rail terminals for various rail carriers, and international airports. Each year, motor carriers transport sizable volumes of domestic and international cargo shipments, including containerized cargo, between connecting ports, airports, and rail terminals, as well as inland destinations. Our Team possesses the skill and expertise concerning interconnecting carrier agreements, intermodal transport, carriers’ duties concerning drivers, and all applicable federal, state, and local laws as well as regulations governing the motor carrier industry. The Lane Powell team provides advice to motor carriers and also cargo interests in the motor carrier industry throughout the West Coast.
The representative experience of our Transportation Team includes:
Developing driver walk-around safety inspection checklist in compliance with the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) regulation.
Providing advice to carriers concerning their duty to comply with DOT regulations, including a carrier’s obligation to investigate its drivers, administer driving tests, and require drivers to observe mandatory regulations.
Defending a large North American transportation logistics company in litigation arising from driver collisions.
Representing leading global providers of vehicle rental services in litigation regarding vehicle collisions, and Personal Injury Protection and Uninsured Motorist claims.
Defending a global shipping company in vehicle collision and ERISA-related litigation.
Defending carriers for Carmack Amendment claims for cargo damage.
Defending motor carriers for cargo damage arising out of intermodal transport with ocean carriers and rail carriers.
Providing advice concerning the sale and purchase of assets and equipment.
Our Transportation attorneys possess the expertise to skillfully handle any and all motor carrier issues in a cost-effective manner for the Firm’s clients.
Transportation Networks and Emerging Technology
Technological advances in our increasingly interconnected world continue to shape transportation modes and networks. Today, passengers can know to the second when their bus will arrive, summon a private driver to their doorstep through a transportation network company, and instantly rent a car or bicycle on the street by using their mobile device. Given the sharp increase in emerging technological advances,
even greater change is predicted in the transportation industry. Driverless cars and trucks, delivery drones, alternative energy vehicles, and the increasing focus on transportation efficiency and innovation at all levels of government will bring legal changes and challenges that will touch every sector of our economy.
Lane Powell’s Transportation Team has the skill and expertise to assist firm clients navigate this new world, whether they are established traditional transportation companies, cutting edge transportation network companies, emerging industries, or transportation customers. The firm’s attorneys are knowledgeable about the most current transportation regulations and statutes, and routinely provide advice to corporations, transportation network companies, and individuals regarding the challenges of emerging technology impacting transportation.