Baker Donelson's automotive industry team advises clients on a full range of legal and business issues. Our practice centers on two areas: foreign direct investment in the U.S. by suppliers (typically the establishment of a manufacturing plant) and product liability defense litigation.
Clients. Our clients include OEMs as well as first and second tier suppliers, dealers, car and truck rental companies, and transport companies doing business in the United States, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea and Switzerland.
Foreign Direct Investment
We advise foreign companies both in the initial phase to establish a U.S. presence as well as operate successfully long term.
Cultural understanding. Lawyers on our team bring deep understanding of the cultural, commercial and legal issues involved in cross-border transactions and business operations. Several are bi-or multilingual, which enables our team to work closely with client personnel and their home-country legal counsel.
Facilities. We advise on site selection, economic development incentives and infrastructure development, construction and operation of advanced manufacturing facilities in the United States. This often includes guidance on public-private partnerships, navigation of intricate tax, real property and utility issues, land use and zoning, construction law and commercial transactions.
Hiring and staffing. We provide counsel regarding labor and employment compliance, labor relations and immigration to facilitate inter-company transfers of executives and technical experts between countries and facilities.
Mergers and acquisitions. Our attorneys advise on acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures and other transactions in the U.S. and abroad.
Regulatory compliance. Members of our team advise automotive clients on a full range of compliance issues, including environmental, tax, worker safety, customs and import-export controls, and other issues.
Government relations. We have worked with manufacturers on regulatory and legislative issues such as seat belt safety, tire safety and hybrid-electric propulsion systems. We also have experience working on a broad scope of industry-related issues with public highway authorities and local government entities.
Product Liability Litigation
We represent major automobile manufacturers in product liability suits covering a wide array of issues and alleged defects, including lack of airbags and restraint systems; brakes; door latches; crashworthiness; post-collision fuel-fed fires and electrical fires; steering mechanisms, handling and stability; metallurgical failures; roof crush; side impact crashes; and seat belt and seat track failures.
Trial ready. We routinely try cases to successful conclusion, and we manage extremely complex cases from beginning to end in a cost-efficient manner.
Engineering knowledge. The experience of our trial lawyers in the disciplines of engineering and injury causation are a great asset both in cross-examining the expert witnesses who testify for plaintiffs in automotive cases, and in securing the top engineering, forensic, medical and economic experts to assist our clients at trial.