Committee Chair Corner - Transportation Committee
Stephen W. Vescovo
Lewis Thomason, King, Krieg and Waldrop, P. C.
SVescovo@LewisThomason.com
I have had the honor of serving as the Chair of the Transportation Committee for the last 18 months. IADC Committee chairmanships are two year appointments. If your practice involves transportation law, be it trucking, mass transit, rail or aviation, I would suggest you consider becoming involved in this Committee. We have several in-house counsel that are active participants of the Committee. There are several sub-Committees, each with a Vice Chair.
The Vice Chairs of the sub-Committees include:
- Membership - Andrew Bowman, Oklahoma City, OK;
- Corporate Counsel - Trea Sutherland (FedEx), Memphis, TN;
- International - Heather Devine, Toronto, Ontario Canada;
- Communications - Tim Crawley, Jackson, MS;
- Diversity - Tanya Peterman, Chicago, IL; and
- Programs and Projects - Mitch Smith, Beaumont, TX.
The Committee holds monthly teleconference meetings. On occasion, we have guest speakers on topics of interest to anyone involved in a transportation practice. Last year, we had a guest presenter at a meeting. Attorney Mike Reda from St. Louis gave an informative talk on the concept of “professional drivers” that the plaintiff’s bar is employing in an attempt to hold professional drivers to a higher standard of care in operating their vehicles. His talk addressed how to counter these arguments from a defense standpoint. Mr. Reda’s presentation had been published in the Trucking Industry Defense Association newsletter. As an aside, Mike was subsequently nominated and has become an IADC member.
In November, we had another guest presenter at our monthly meeting. Whitney Kimerling from Nashville gave a brief talk on the legal landscape of autonomous vehicles. Her talk addressed federal regulations and state legislation that impacts this coming new era of autonomous driving vehicles and the interplay between state and federal regulations.
Our Committee is excited to be partnering with the Drug, Device and Biotechnology Committee on an internal Committee program presentation at the 2019 Annual Meeting. This program will address the impact of drone technology on healthcare. The application of drone technology will reach into every aspect of our lives and legal practices. This program promises to be very informative for everyone in attendance.
Our Committee invites you to enhance your IADC experience and become actively involved in the Transportation Committee. We hold monthly meetings on the 3rd Thursday of each month at noon, central time. The Committee extends an invitation to all members to join this Committee.