Automotive

Overview

The automotive industry faces tricky terrain as it rolls into in the 21st century. Intense competition and the pressure to constantly innovate will pose ongoing challenges to auto manufacturers, suppliers and related businesses competing in the global marketplace. Continuing technological advances in the industry will require companies to be ever more vigilant about protecting their intellectual property. And, in order to survive, some companies will be forced to restructure themselves in bankruptcy proceedings. Combining the resources of our offices in Washington, DC, and New York City, Arent Fox provides a full range of legal services to its automotive clients.

Motor Vehicle Safety Law

Arent Fox has been offering expert advice on motor vehicle safety law since passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966 and the subsequent formation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Automotive Group includes a former NHTSA chief counsel and other senior lawyers who work almost exclusively on motor vehicle safety regulatory issues for manufacturers of passenger cars, trucks, RVs, motorcycles, school buses, tires, automotive equipment and child restraints, as well as a variety of automotive-industry associations.

We advise clients on the full range of NHTSA-related matters, including:

• Compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
• Defect and recall notification.
• Reporting and compliance for the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation Act, including early warning reporting and foreign recall reporting.
• Lobbying Congressional committees on motor vehicle safety matters.
• Representing clients in administrative proceedings and litigation, including product liability litigation.

We handle issues arising under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Law and related regulations. We also serve as general counsel to more than a dozen automotive industry associations, providing advice to association staff and members on NHTSA matters. Our association clients include the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, the Brake Manufacturers Council, the Truck Manufacturers Association, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, the Transportation Safety Equipment Institute and many automotive-related associations.

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Commercial and Corporate Transactions

Arent Fox advises clients on commercial transactions and relationships with customers and suppliers. For the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), we assisted in the development of OESA’s Model Purchase Order Terms and Conditions and authored OESA’s recently revised North American Production Purchase Order Contract Terms and Conditions Comparative Analysis. We handle complex business transactions for automotive industry clients worldwide, including establishing joint ventures in Asia, buying and selling businesses in Europe and creating supply chain and joint development arrangements in North America.

Intellectual Property

Arent Fox negotiates and drafts intellectual property licensing agreements and counsels clients on the selection, availability and registration of trademarks, service marks and corporate names. We prepare and prosecute applications to protect trademarks, service marks and corporate names in the United States and foreign countries. We are also expert in the procurement of patents and litigation involving patent infringement, validity and licensing.

Counterfeiting/Gray Market Goods and Diversion

Arent Fox assists clients in protecting their intellectual property. We advise companies on legal and business remedies to counterfeit and gray-market goods and on outsourcing in Asia and Latin America. We are one of the only firms counseling foreign governments in revising or implementing laws to combat counterfeiting.

We have assisted the governments of Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in revising or implementing laws that protect intellectual property under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

Antitrust and Competition Law

Arent Fox represents most of the industry’s key players: vehicle manufacturers, major tier one and tier two suppliers, remanufacturers, aftermarket wholesalers and distributors. We serve as the general counsel to many major industry trade associations. We counsel clients on distribution and franchising matters, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, unfair trade practices and false advertising, e-commerce initiatives, compliance programs, state warranty issues and intellectual property, including licensing restrictions and patent pooling.

Environmental and Emissions

Arent Fox has a well-established and respected environmental practice that handles vehicle emissions matters as well as other environmental issues facing automotive industry manufacturers. We were involved in the crafting of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and continue to be at the forefront of agency representation relating to mobile source emissions. We counsel clients on federal, California and European laws and regulations and track and advise clients on regulatory trends.

Customs and International Trade

Arent Fox counsels clients on foreign trade zones and the import and export of merchandise. We handle a variety of issues and proceedings involving the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (formerly the US Customs Service), including proper classification of merchandise, penalty proceedings, prior disclosures, transaction structuring, preferential duty arrangements under the North American Free Trade Agreement, administration of quotas, country of origin marking, designing compliance programs and assisting in audits. On international trade issues, Arent Fox negotiated exclusions of steel products from the now-repealed Steel Safeguard tariffs on behalf of automotive steel users.

OSHA Compliance

Arent Fox has experience before federal and state agencies and courts in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforcement and rulemaking and related toxic tort and criminal litigation. We also advise clients on minimizing liability and preparing plans for responding to serious industrial accidents. We offer employers a comprehensive approach to safety and health issues, working closely with other practice groups in the firm, including environmental, government relations, labor and employment, toxic tort and construction litigation and white-collar criminal defense. Arent Fox also represents clients in asbestos-related product liability lawsuits, asbestos-related OSHA matters and asbestos legislation.

Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy

Arent Fox handles complex reorganizations of distressed businesses and restructurings of debt and recapitalizations through out-of-court workouts and bankruptcy proceedings. We have experience in a variety of issues affecting the automotive industry, including asbestos bankruptcy, and have developed equity preservation and restructuring strategies to assist businesses facing asbestos, or other mass tort, liability.

Labor and Employment Law

Arent Fox represents employers in personnel, labor relations, employment discrimination, occupational safety, benefits, immigration, legislative, health care and other employment-related matters. We counsel clients on compliance with applicable laws and regulations and litigate cases in federal and state courts and agencies. We also conduct internal investigations of sexual harassment claims and handle cases involving discrimination on the basis of age, disability, race, sex or sexual orientation.

Immigration

Arent Fox has established contacts within US government agencies and consulates abroad to accelerate the visa application process. Our expertise and resources allow large multinational corporations and small start-up companies to outsource their entire visa function to us with minimal supervision.

Litigation

Arent Fox has more than 70 litigators skilled in dispute resolution. We have won verdicts for clients in state and federal courts throughout the country. We also have an appellate practice and have successfully argued cases before state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court.