OCT. 26 BLOCK 2 3:30PM - 4:30PM CORTEZ

The Legal Issues: What Companies in Trucking Need to Know

LEADERSHIP OPERATIONS SAFETY & COMPLIANCE

About This Session

The legal and regulatory landscape for motor carriers, 3PLs, and other companies in trucking continues to evolve rapidly, creating new challenges and risks. Legal and industry experts will break down the most significant legal issues impacting companies currently practicing in trucking and what can be done to retain compliance standards, mitigate risk, and ultimately operate safely and efficiently.

Topics will include:

The ongoing impact of tariffs on freight markets and operations
Developments in tort reform and nuclear verdicts
CDL English language proficiency requirements and non-domiciled CDLs
Growing number of class-action lawsuits involving the classification of salaried and commission-based brokers, dispatchers, and other employees under overtime exemption rules

Panelists will also examine emerging safety and regulatory considerations affecting driver recruitment and retention, new U.S. Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board independent contractor rules, and the increasing legal focus on broker liability and FAAAA preemption. Attendees will gain valuable insight into how these legal and regulatory developments may impact workforce management, operations, compliance strategies, and overall business risk moving forward.

Whether you are an executive leader, HR professional, safety manager, operations leader, or legal advisor, this session will provide practical guidance and expert perspectives to help your organization navigate the complex legal environment currently facing the trucking industry.

FACILITATOR

Rebecca Trenner

Partner
Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C.

Rebecca (Becky) Trenner represents the firm’s clients in federal and state employment and unemployment tax controversies, with a particular focus on defending the classification of transportation professionals, including transportation equipment owner-operators and freight agents, as independent contractors. Trenner defends transportation industry clients in disputes involving independent contractor reclassification for unemployment benefits, unemployment and employment tax purposes, workers’ compensation, and successor liability and SUTA rate manipulation investigations and appeals.

Internally, Trenner serves as the firm’s Associate Development Partner, facilitating, supporting, and guiding associate attorneys’ training and professional development.

Shannon Cohen

Partner
Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C.

Shannon Cohen primarily practices in emerging technologies, independent contractor issues, and legislative services. Cohen focuses on forthcoming and active legislation and regulation affecting motor carriers, particularly legislation addressing the independent contractor status of owner-operators. She has extensive experience counseling clients on owner-operator programs and issues related to the design of successful owner-operator models, including drafting and revising legislation, assessing and communicating its impact on the trucking industry, and drafting and reviewing independent contractor and other transportation agreements.

Cohen also serves in several internal leadership roles within the Firm, including as General Counsel of Scopelitis Law Firm, Co-Chair of the DEI Committee, and a member of the technology, hiring, ethics, and Firm Management committees. She also co-leads the Summer Law Clerk Program.

Cohen has been a featured speaker on emerging technologies, independent contractor issues, and legislative developments for industry stakeholders and associations.

Cohen earned her B.S. from Indiana University and her J.D., cum laude, from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where she served on the board of the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies.

Vanessa I. Gomez

Managing Associate
Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Vanessa Gomez counsels transportation and logistics companies on legal and regulatory matters involving the movement of goods throughout the supply chain, including commercial contracts, international transactions, trade compliance, customs and import/export regulations, and mergers and acquisitions. Gomez advises clients on structuring transactions, managing regulatory obligations, resolving cross-border disputes, and navigating government audits and investigations.

Gomez also assists clients with transportation and logistics-related due diligence, licensing and permits, operating authority, and corporate governance. Fluent in English and Spanish and able to read French and Portuguese, she brings valuable cross-border experience to her practice. Before joining Benesch, Gomez earned an MBA and co-founded a transportation and logistics startup, giving her firsthand operational and entrepreneurial experience that informs her legal counsel.

Erin M. Salfen

Principal (Partner)
Jackson Lewis P.C.

Erin M. Salfen is a principal in the St. Louis, Missouri, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and an experienced litigator and trusted advisor to employers.

Salfen represents clients in labor matters, including collective bargaining, arbitration, union organizing, and proceedings before the NLRB. She also advises employers on mergers and acquisitions, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and related litigation. She has secured verdicts at trial and on appeal, as well as early dismissals in ADA, Title VII, and whistleblower cases, including class actions.

A Certified Information Privacy Professional, Salfen advises employers on data privacy, OSHA, workplace safety, and wage and hour compliance. She also assists clients with employment policies, employee handbooks, performance concerns, and internal complaints.

Previously, Salfen served as a Staff Attorney to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She was also a partner at an AmLaw 100 firm, focusing on the trucking, healthcare, and construction industries.

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The Legal Issues: What Companies in Trucking Need to Know

About This Session

MEET THE PANELISTS

FACILITATOR

Rebecca Trenner

Shannon Cohen

Other Amazing Sessions

Opening Keynote

Closing Keynote

General Session

Breakout Session

Vanessa I. Gomez

Erin M. Salfen

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