The 2023 program schedule is jam-packed with CLE sessions, dining, networking, and other fun activities. This year’s educational sessions will feature timely topics of interest for attorneys practicing all modes of transportation law. Topics have been chosen based on suggestions received from past attendees as well as recent developments in the law that affect the transportation industry.
Accreditation has been requested for the 2023 TLA Annual Conference from every state with mandatory continuing legal education (CLE) requirements. Please be aware that each state has its own rules and regulations, including the definition of CLE. More information about CLE is available on the TLA website.
Thursday, October 26
Thursday, October 26 – 5 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Salt Lake Foyer South)
Friday, October 27 – 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Salt Lake Foyer South)
Friday, October 27
(Salt Lake AB)
Thursday, October 26 – 5 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, October 27 – 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Attention New & Young Lawyers – come join your fellow committee members for breakfast prior to the start of the TLI. Join Greg Reed & Alexander Karcher for a meet and greet and a general introduction to the New & Young Lawyer Committee. (Blue Spruce)
Eric Benton, TLA President, Mayer LLP
Mark Thornton, 2023 Transportation Law Institute Program Co-Chair, Skoubye Nielson & Johansen, LLC
Paul Mello, 2023 Transportation Law Institute Program Co-Chair, Hanson Bridgett LLP
Robin Squires, CTLA President, Partner, Bordon Ladner Gervais LLP
All transportation contracts need to address such issues as rates, services, liability, and dispute resolution. However, different rules and laws can apply when a transportation service is at least partially performed in another country. Drafting and negotiating international transportation contracts can involve the law of foreign countries and the need to be familiar with laws, programs, and agencies that regulate international trade, such as C-TPAT; OFAC; the FCPA; CBP; and the GDPR. This panel will discuss the key issues in negotiating and drafting international transportation and cross-border logistics contracts from a U.S., Canadian, and Mexican perspective, focusing on what’s the same; what’s different; and the clauses to include or avoid when cutting an international deal.
Panelists:
Andrew Danas, Grove, Jaskiewicz and Cobert, LLP
Carlos M. Sesma Jr., Sesma, Sesma & McNeese
Louis Amato-Gauci, Miller Thomson LLP
Answering that question depends on vigilance by shippers, intermediaries, carriers, receivers – and also on sound rules of commerce. This panel will examine current issues of identity theft, stolen loads, bait-and-switch and other forms of cyber-fraud in today’s trucking marketplace. At a time when regulators have considered freeing some freight brokers from licensing requirements, they also have threatened summary revocation of other brokers’ licenses if their bonds are depleted by fraudulent claims. Neither of those approaches is adequate to the sheer number of carriers and brokers needing to be identified and vetted for safety and bonafides. Our panel will suggest possible starting points for a solution.
Moderator:
Jeffrey E. Cox, Seaton & Husk
Panelists:
Katherine T. Garber, Clark Hill
John Gentile, Benesch Law
Steve Van Otten, Freight Tec Management Group, Inc.
Substance abuse continues to be a real and difficult problem that statistics show hits the legal community particularly hard. This panel will discuss the scope and causes of the problem and the intersection between the topic of substance abuse and an attorney’s ethical obligations. The panel will discuss how we can help ourselves and our colleagues who we can see are struggling through an exploration of ethical rules, personal experiences, and real world examples.
Moderators/Panelists:
Megan Sanford, Coil Law
Kent B. Scott, Babcock Scott & Babcock, P.C.
Sean Morris, Wasatch Crest Treatment
Christopher Martinez, Utah Legal Services
This panel will focus on non-economic damages in personal injury and death cases. The discussion will include pre-death pain and suffering, pre-impact terror, emotional distress, beneficiary claims, loss of consortium and how these damages play into plaintiffs’ punitive damages playbook. The panel will discuss plaintiffs’ techniques like “anchoring” that are used to inflate these damages and educate the attendees on valuable strategies and techniques to diffuse those efforts.
Moderator:
Hillary Arrow Booth, Booth LLP
Panelists:
Scott D. Carey, Baker Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Melissa Thompson Richardson, Walters Richardson, PLLC
Rebecca L. Burroughs, Ward Hocker, Thornton
This panel will address the basics of factoring, including the benefits of factoring to carriers and brokers and the relevant players in this space. The panel will also address legislative issues involving factoring in various states, and common litigation issues that arise in disputes where factoring is involved.
Moderator:
Curtis L. Cornett, Cors & Bassett
Panelists:
Justin Olson, Esq., England Logistics, Inc. and England Carrier Services
Hailey Benton Thomas, Esq., Bison Payments
David Jencks, Esq., Jenks Law
Until recently, the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) was an obscure law that only dealt with unions. Not anymore. The Act applies to all private sector companies – from transportation and warehousing to technology companies and law firms. This panel will discuss the recent changes to the Act, how it impacts every member of TLA and their clients, and its severe penalties for violations. The media now covers union organizing at unprecedented levels, and union organizing is increasing dramatically. Last year saw a 53% increase over 2021 in representation petitions – many in traditionally non-union industries. No employer, in any industry, is immune from union organizing or the Act.
Moderator:
Paul B. Mello, Hanson Bridgett LLP
Speaker:
Frank Botta, The Lynch Law Group, LLC
Sandra Hiller, Dart Transit Company