Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP‘s Washington DC-based team encompasses a wide variety of practice areas, including litigation, appellate matters involving punitive damages, environmental law, franchising, and antitrust. The offering benefits from the firm’s ability to leverage expertise in false advertising, class actions, labor and employment law, international trade and antidumping. Also of note, the firm has longstanding experience in efforts to conform punitive damage awards and procedures to constitutional requirements. In the railroad space, co-partner-in-charge of the Washington DC office, Thomas Dupree Jr, recently led Indiana Rail Road Company, the Association of American Railroads, and the American Short Line and Regional Rail Association, to a major victory – a federal court was persuaded to strike down as unconstitutional a newly enacted Illinois statute, which imposed a minimum crew size for freight trains traveling in or through Illinois. Environmental regulatory and litigation specialist Raymond Ludwiszewski spent eight years in senior legal positions in the US Government.

Hogan Lovells US LLP represents both traditional automotive companies and emerging mobility industry players. It routinely works with leading participants and disrupters across the industry supply chain; and leverages its global team for cross-border work. In Washington DC, the track record of transportation regulatory practice head Latane Montague includes high-stakes transport industry-related safety and emissions crises; and rail practice leader Kevin Sheys is ‘thoroughly versed in railroad environmental law‘. Also integral to the DC office are transport and logistics sector leader, Joanne Rotondi; automotive industry co-head William Yavinsky; and Michael Kidney, who has longstanding experience in defending automotive industry-targeted lawsuits. In New York, John Sullivan acts in franchise litigation and related disputes, while senior counsel Carl Chiappa is a widely respected motor vehicle franchise law expert. In Denver, counsel Emily Kimball has served as outside counsel for the Railway Supply Institute since 2012. Notable growth in DC includes the early 2021 promotion to partner of Ryan Ford, who handles litigation for motor vehicle manufacturers; and the January 2022 elevation to counsel of transportation industry-focused environmental and safety regulation expert, Kathryn Lannon.

McGuireWoods LLP represents a broad range of transportation industry players, including passenger rail companies, Class II railroads, short line railroads, and equipment financing companies. The team is able to draw upon expertise in energy, natural resources development, land use, real estate, litigation and M&A. It notably stands out in the market for the firm’s government relations subsidiary, McGuireWoods Consulting, which enhances its overall practice through public policy insight. Former managing partner of the firm’s Jacksonville office, Eric Bilik, is a complex business and financial litigation specialist, while Christopher Thanner is a commercial real estate law expert. All-round litigator Bryan Brantley leads the firm’s transportation industry group from the Pittsburg office, and Davis Walsh in Richmond regularly represents public and private automotive sector companies. At associate level, Natalie Zagari focuses on product and consumer litigation, primarily serving as national coordinating counsel for a major transportation company. All attorneys listed are based in Jacksonville unless mentioned otherwise. Former partner Matthew Monsour departed the firm in January 2022, while former counsel Patrick Dover exited in 2021.

In August 2021, Holland & Knight LLP merged with Thompson & Knight LLP, the combination bringing on board Dallas-based partner Charles Shewmake, whose experience  includes 26 years in-house at BNSF Railway Corp. The rail practice, which is ‘very accessible and responsive to time-sensitive issues‘, routinely acts for Class I, II and III railroads in rail transportation contracts and railroad line sales. It also assists with railroad transaction agreements, real estate issues and regulatory concerns. William Byrne offers extensive experience in rail, road, intermodal and ocean transportation; Lawrence Hamilton II is a highly regarded transportation and class action trial attorney; while the ‘knowledgeable, smart and client-focused‘ Jameson Rice provides regulatory guidance on transportation regulations. In Los Angeles, Linda Auerbach Allderdice is also a transportation specialist. The attorneys mentioned are based in the firm’s Jacksonville office unless otherwise stated.

In addition to King & Spalding LLP‘s regulatory, enforcement and policy expertise, its automotive and transportation practice houses specialists in complex litigation and government investigations. In recent years, the group has been highly involved in the headline diesel-related issues surrounding the automotive industry. In Washington DC environmental law expert Granta Nakayama co-leads the team and is regularly sought out by automakers facing high-profile diesel-related issues and litigation. Co-head John Hooper in New York is a complex litigation specialist; Chicago-based Livia Kiser is a vehicle component expert; and Susan Vargas in Los Angeles litigates high-exposure cases. Atlanta’s Susan Clare predominantly represents automotive manufacturers and transportation companies. In 2021, Jackie Glassman left the firm, while former counsel Christie Iannetta also departed.

Thompson Hine LLP‘s Washington DC-based practice has extensive experience in regulatory debates concerning the transportation of hazardous materials by rail, including safety and liability issues and common carrier obligations. The team also acts in rail rate cases, including matters for the chemical and plastics industries, while electric utilities seek out the team for coal transportation issues. It additionally advises on the full gamut of motor carrier work, including regulatory rulemaking proceedings and federal preemption-related litigation. Karyn Booth is a regulatory and commercial freight rail specialist, and Sandra L. Brown advises on the transportation by rail of coal, chemicals, crude oil and other hazardous materials. Former senior US Department of Transportation official Tim Goodman ‘has vast industry knowledge‘, while counsel David Benz is a freight railroad regulation expert.

Dentons‘ ‘solid‘ transportation team is regularly mandated to advise on matters involving freight railroads, rail passenger carriers and trucking. The department also fields autonomous vehicle specialists. Washington DC-based David Hirsh leads the US transportation and rail practice as well as the firm's global transportation team, and is an expert in transportation-related regulatory and business issues, his experience including representing freight rail carriers in litigation with passenger carriers.

Representing automakers, suppliers, technology developers and financial institutions, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP automotives-focused team handles disputes surrounding product development, technology and IP, as well as litigation over marketing, distribution, warranty and product liability. Boston-based co-head Daniel Savrin’s work for automotive companies predominantly focuses on antitrust, consumer protection, and dealer relations and distribution matters. In Los Angeles, David Schrader represents automotive and mobility sector clients in critical matters; and co-head Lisa Weddle‘s automotive experience includes the recent defeat of the certification of a nationwide class of seven million-plus vehicle owners, who alleged defective heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has a strong reputation for its representation of car companies in dealership litigation. On the regulatory side, the practice fields experts in dealer relations, franchise matters and distribution-related work. In Columbia, Steven McKelvey has longstanding experience in representing automotive companies, while Keith Hutto acts in business litigation. In 2021, Washington DC-based Christie Iannetta, who focuses on automotive industry-related regulatory and compliance issues, joined as partner from King & Spalding LLP, where she was counsel.

Winston & Strawn LLP‘s ‘business-oriented‘ practice has longstanding experience in transactions and litigation involving transport infrastructure, including heavy and light rail. It also has notable expertise in representing trucking and logistics companies. Praised as 'Among the best railroad appellate lawyers in private practice‘, Andrew Tauber joined the Washington DC office in 2021 from Mayer Brown, with experience covering Federal Railroad Safety Act and Locomotive Inspection Act-related litigation; and in the automotive sector, representing an automobile manufacturer facing consumer claims involving emissions standards. Chicago-based transactions specialist Nick Golem is also experienced in working with transportation industry clients.