Practice Areas & Industries: Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Practice/Industry Group Overview

The Team that Knows Aerospace Issues

Over more than 30 years, Fulbright & Jaworski has worked on virtually every type of matter faced by the aerospace industry, from air crashes to regulatory matters to aircraft financing.

Fulbright has represented airlines, aircraft and component manufacturers, foreign governments, defense contractors and insurance companies. Just as important, our attorneys have been involved in the aerospace industry for much of their careers.

A former NTSB Chairman. A member of the Fulbright aviation team served as Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and as a member of the FAA Aviation System Capacity Advisory Committee.

Pilots and aerospace engineers. There are licensed pilots among our attorneys and others with degrees in aerospace engineering, including a former systems engineer who worked on satellite programs, communications systems, and flight control systems. Others are:

• Former director of the Texas AeroSpace Commission, member of the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame        
• Former in-house counsel for large aerospace manufacturers        
• Former head of the legal department of a major international carrier        
• Former senior trial attorney, U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board

Professional organization positions. Fulbright attorneys have held or currently serve in these positions:

• Chairman of the American Bar Association (ABA) Litigation Section Aviation Committee       
• Vice Chairman of the ABA Aircraft Financing Subcommittee       
• Member, Aviation Committee, Defense Institute       
• Member, Aviation Committee, Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel Organization       
• Chair of the ABA Tort Section (TIPS) Aviation Committee       
• Chair of the ABA Forum Committee on Air and Space Law       
• Founding Board Member, Aviation Committee, Texas Bar Association       
• Board Member, Flight Safety Foundation

When You Think Aerospace, Think Fulbright^TM

Services Available

We handle matters in the following areas:

Aerospace: Airline / Manufacturer Representation

Airlines and aerospace equipment manufacturers turn to Fulbright & Jaworski regularly for consulting, transactional and litigation services in areas such as:

• Antitrust law
• Corporate law
• Customs issues
• Finance
• Geopolitical issues
• Industry trade agreements
• International sales
• Regulatory compliance
• Tax law

Airline operations. Fulbright & Jaworski has represented carriers in matters ranging from supersonic Concorde service to the United States to rate disputes to challenging noise rules of the New York Port Authority. U.S. and international carriers depend on us for assistance with matters related to:

• Airport access and facilities
• Code sharing
• Licensing
• Noise compliance
• Reservation systems

Litigation. Fulbright has successfully litigated matters involving virtually every aspect of aerospace technology and operations and legal areas, such as federal preemption. A partial list is:

• Aircraft/component products liability
• Air traffic controller negligence
• Airport usage disputes/runway design
• Discrimination/racial profiling claims
• Experimental designs
• False imprisonment claims
• Flight crew/pilot negligence
• Maintenance/repair negligence
• Radar
• Terrorism/hijackings
• Warsaw Convention claims
• Weather/meteorological claims

Regulatory practice. We have represented clients for many years in regulatory matters before the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other government entities.

Aerospace: Air Crash Litigation

Winning for clients, setting precedents. Fulbright & Jaworski has represented airlines, aircraft and component manufacturers, and insurance companies in air crash matters. In the course of our work, we've set aerospace litigation precedents. The following are three examples.

1. Expert opinion successfully challenged. Fulbright represented the owner and crew of a business jet that crashed in Texas killing all passengers. The jury awarded no damages, and the verdict was upheld in appeals all the way through the state supreme court. The decision is often cited in products liability cases when defendants challenge expert opinions.

2. Tolling statute used for removal. Fulbright represented a helicopter manufacturer after a crash in Israel that killed all aboard, which included nationals from several countries. Using an innovative technique, we removed the action from state court to federal court under a recently enacted tolling statute available to aviation manufacturers.

The court's decision granting a motion for summary judgment is now recognized as authority not only for this basis of removal but for approval of the tolling statute, as well.

3. Costly discovery avoided. A commuter aircraft crashed killing all aboard after an in-flight structural breakup. In representing the carrier, Fulbright resolved all but one case before suits were filed. In that case, innovative removal tactics enabled the firm to settle the case favorably for the client before extensive and costly discovery.

International aviation disasters. A multi-disciplinary approach is often required for these cases, which may involve international treaties and covenants, jurisdictional disputes, sovereignty issues and class actions.

Aerospace: Crisis Management

Coordinating response efforts. The Crisis Management Task Force of Fulbright & Jaworski assists airlines and aviation manufacturers in responding to a crisis or disaster situation. Our attorneys are highly experienced in responding to governmental investigators and helping clients focus their response efforts.

Regulatory/media coordination. With our national presence and long relationships with regulatory entities, we can buffer the torrent of inquiries and media attention that are inevitable in the critical period following an incident.

Proactive planning. We also help clients develop response plans before a crisis occurs. In fact, we have assisted several carriers in developing mass disaster response strategies.

Arbitration and ADR. Fulbright attorneys regularly advise clients in a broad range of U.S. and international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution matters. The American Lawyer included Fulbright & Jaworski in a list of 17 firms in the world named as the "Arbitration Elite."

Aerospace: Equipment Financing

Billions of dollars in transactions. Each year, the Fulbright & Jaworski equipment financing group closes transactions worth a billion dollars or more. The firm represents a wide variety of clients in U.S. and cross-border leasing and financing transactions involving both commercial and corporate aircraft, as well as other forms of transportation.

Clients include U.S. and foreign airlines, commercial banks, investment banks, credit companies, government entities in the public finance market, "vulture" funds, institutional investors, operating lessors and aircraft manufacturers.

Transaction types. This work spans all types of transactions, including:

• Domestic leveraged leases
• Double-dip" lease structures in international jurisdictions
• Enhanced equipment trust certificate (EETC) offerings
• Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) leasing
• Japanese Leveraged Leases
• Operating leases
• Pass-through trust certificate debt structures
• "Pickle accelerator" structures
• Public/private offerings of equipment-secured debt
• Secondary market sales of airline paper
• Secured loans/revolving credit facilities
• Securitizations
• Synthetic leases
• Vendor-supported "lease in, lease out" structures

Bankruptcies and debt workouts. Fulbright also has extensive experience in bankruptcy remote structures and in executing workout transactions, some of which have realized 100% recovery of the original investments.

This highly rated practice area consistently gains recognition for Fulbright & Jaworski as one of the leading firms in the U.S. for bankruptcy matters.