Defense Digest

On the Pulse ... Hitting The Road With Marshall, Dennehey: Transportation Law Practice Group

The handling and trial of matters on behalf of commercial fleet vehicle owners and their insurers is uniquely fitted to the structure of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin. Our Transportation Law Practice Group gives clients the advantages of practitioners specially designated to handle the complexities of these types of cases while providing the benefits of knowledgeable local representation through the 17 offices of the firm, servicing five states. Our clients, therefore, get the advantages of sophisticated centralized handling and training of a national-type practice joined with local familiarity and an experience with the courts and juries throughout the substantial geographic area served by the firm's offices in the major transportation states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio, and Florida.

The transportation law group is composed of attorneys concentrating in representing clients and their carriers in complex tort and coverage litigation involving all types of common and private carriers. The members of this practice group include shareholders and associates who have handled cases for large common carrier transportation fleets in interstate trucking, railroads, waste hauling, taxi-cab, shuttle and bus operators, rental vehicle fleets, and ambulance/paratransit services. These attorneys have represented both insurers and self-insureds in personal injury, cargo, environmental, hazardous materials, indemnification, and insurance coverage issues within this area of practice, and they are keenly aware of the sophisticated issues and the inter-relationships of the parties that can arise in the handling of such matters.

Many of our clients in the transportation area benefit from knowing that contact with our Transportation Law Practice Group will give them consistency of result and familiarity with the client's needs or requirements in the handling of litigation throughout the large geographic service area. The structure of the firm allows practice groups with extensive specialty experience to coordinate representation for clients throughout a substantial geographic area in conjunction with local offices, which provide valuable knowledge and presence in the local courts. This is particularly true in the firm's transportation practice.

The attorneys in the practice group are also sensitive to the particular need for tight control of legal costs and expenses without sacrifice to excellence in the defense of such clients. Many of our clients in the transportation industry have large self-insured retentions, which necessitate the close control of legal costs and expenses. Access by attorneys in the practice group to centralized database information and other attorneys who have wide experience with the technical issues encountered in defense of these claims produces very cost-effective handling of matters at a very high experience and quality level. Task-appropriate delegation consistent with the overall close supervision and client responsiveness required in transportation cases is facilitated by the firm's branch office structure with central practice group assignment.

The advantages of the transportation practice group structure within the firm are increased by the full support of our Appellate and Toxic Tort Environmental Practice Groups, upon whom the firm's transportation attorneys can draw in the handling of any transportation matter. In conjunction with the firm's Insurance Coverage Practice Group, we also represent insurance carriers in coverage matters that arise from underlying transportation cases and in which a thorough knowledge of the underlying transportation case is crucial in addressing the coverage issues.

Members of the transportation practice group have been participants in a number of the major transportation law organizations including the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), the ATA Litigation Center, the ABA Transportation MegaConferences, RIMS, Defense Research Institute (DRI), and the Association of Transportation Practitioners. The firm has represented some of the most recognized names in the transportation industry and firms providing claim administration and insurance for such companies.

We look forward to providing biographies of the attorneys serving each of our branch offices as members of the Transportation Law Practice Group, together with sample case and representative client lists. For additional details regarding our Transportation Practice Group, feel free to contact:

James D. Hilly, Esquire
Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin
1845 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA  19103-4717
Direct Dial: (215) 575-2783
E-Mail: jhilly@mdwcg.com
Fax: (215) 575-0856

*Jim is a shareholder in our Philadelphia, PA office.  He can be reached at (215) 575-2783 or jhilly@mdwcg.com.