Category: Transportation Law

Hey Dad… about your car…

April 7, 2017  |  Carole Clark Isakson

The story I’m about to tell you is true. There I was, on a beautiful sunny day in 1983 driving through the Notre Dame student parking lot in my father’s beautiful sky blue 1969 Corvair convertible. What an understandably excellent mood I was in! And then…. Not. That great day was destroyed in an instant by a horrible crash and heavy scraping noise. I didn’t know what had happened, but I was fairly sure it wasn’t good, so I stopped the car, shut off the engine, and walked to the back (from whence the horrible noise had come). And there I saw it – the unexpected sight of the car engine ON THE GROUND!!! I had no plan in place for this sort of disaster, other than the “Call Dad” plan. And while it worked for me then in 1983, I currently recommend to clients that a somewhat broader and more detailed disaster recovery plan be developed. Does your business have one? I expect that as with many of my business clients, a customer or supplier has asked for you for a copy of your disaster recovery plan or your business continuity plan. The former is just what it says – how your business will cope with a disaster of various types. The…

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BGS Transportation Department Attends Regional Conference

January 31, 2017  |  Carole Clark Isakson

Jim Wills , Carole Clark Isakson and Nicole Wiebold recently attended the 2017 TLA (Transportation Lawyers Association) Chicago Regional Seminar. This seminar attracts lawyers from 35 states and several Canadian provinces, and included a presentation by the regional director of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The TLA is an active group of transportation attorneys, uniquely qualified to provide both education and networking. Transportation issues are generally not state specific, and having a good understanding of the federal regulatory scheme is critical. It also helps to know who to call in Texas in the case of an emergency! The TLA provides both. The seminar featured presentations from attorneys in the US, Canada and Mexico on cross boarder issues (primarily liability and choice of law concerns).  A representative of the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) reported on implemented and upcoming changes to the rules applying to many motor carriers.  As with every business, trucking companies can expect ever evolving technologies to present new advantages and burdens. Electronic logging devices on many trucks will be required effective December 18, 2017. These devices capture data on the driver’s driving, engine run times, vehicle movement, miles driven, and engine hours. Seminar attendees also learned about new rule-making on safety fitness determinations for motor carriers, changes in…

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BGS Participates in MTA's Trucks and Toys 2016 Event

December 13, 2016  |  Carole Clark Isakson

The BGS Transportation Law Department is carrying on the tradition of involvement with a great cause – the Minnesota Trucking Association (MTA) Trucks and Toys event. This event provides toys for disadvantaged children and teens all over the state of Minnesota, through the efforts of MTA members like BGS. This year BGS attorneys and staff enthusiastically jumped in to the shopping challenge, and even helped load a truck! The MTA has been running this event for more than 20 years, and this year twenty three MTA members around the state collected toys and cash (used to buy more toys). The MTA coordinates with many charities throughout the state, and this year partnered with even more groups to donate even more toys. Here in the metro area, the MTA donated toys to Kinship in Fridley, People Serving People in Minneapolis and Harriet Tubman Foundation in Minneapolis. BGS personnel took part in the event on a more direct level. On Friday night December 2, BGS staff Jackie Campbell and Marly Gullekson (and Marly’s daughters and grandkids!) had a great time helping shop at the Blaine Target, where they helped the MTA purchase more than $13,000 of toys. Bright and early the next morning, and fueled by coffee and hot chocolate, assistant Jackie Campbell and attorneys…

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