Attorneys concentrating in surface transportation matters are routinely involved in virtually every commercial aspect of the transportation needs and services of the firm's clients as a natural outgrowth of its strong surface transportation and intermodal practice. We offer comprehensive counsel in dealing with an array of transportation-related issues, rather than in merely providing limited regulatory advice.

Because we frequently represent shippers, railroads, motor carriers, freight forwarders, shipper's associations and brokers, attorneys in this practice area have a keen understanding of the commercial and operational aspects of our clients' businesses. This complements our traditional regulatory practice. Our services focus on a wide range of issues, from regulatory licensing and rate matters to mergers and acquisitions, from customs and export controls to lobbying, and from antitrust to commerical litigation.

As in other practice areas, surface transportation attorneys seek to blend commercial counseling with the litigation skills that are an essential component in this unique field. Drawing on the talents of the firm's antitrust, lobbying and government contracts lawyers -- among others -- we can address a myriad of problems on behalf of our clients. Our attorneys regularly appear before federal and state courts or arbitration panels nationwide. We also work with governmental entities such as the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Surface Transportation Board, the Congress and state regulatory agencies.

In the commercial area, we consult on and negotiate shipper/carrier agreements, corporate and equipment acquisitions and financings, bills of lading and negotiable instruments, and bankruptcy or similar work-outs. The attorneys in this practice group also are involved in structuring arrangements that permit our railroad clients to continue to participate in the increasingly more competitive environment in which they operate. Similarly, we help shipper clients obtain the benefit of competitively based transportation services by adding new rail service, where possible, or by negotiating appropriate rate and service arrangements utilizing our regulatory and commercial skills.

In the litigation area, we are involved in everything from rate cases to technical tariff interpretation disputes, from loss and damage claims to contract controversies. We are especially active in dealing with the antitrust issues that have become the focus in deregulated industries like surface transportation.

Due largely to our unusually diverse clientele, we are often called on to develop coalitions involving shippers and carriers to address common problems. In representing these groups before the Congress, the regulatory agencies, the Executive Branch departments, or in a litigation context, we strive to balance the parties' individual goals with real world circumstances so as to facilitate results that maximize the clients' overall objectives.