McBreen & Kopko’s Travel Group represents domestic and international clients on a broad range of regulatory, commercial, and business matters. Many of our lawyers have worked as in-house counsel at major airlines, regional carriers, and fixed base operators. Our experience and extensive knowledge of the aviation industry enable us to provide comprehensive, cost effective services to our clients, including:
- Corporate travel companies
- On-line travel agencies
- Tour operators
- Traditional travel agencies
- Travel consolidators
- Travel distribution companies
Areas of Expertise:
Regulatory
McBreen & Kopko attorneys represent clients on a full range of legal issues confronting travel industry stakeholders, including matters involving the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and providing advice on advertising rules and regulations and other consumer protection matters. Our attorneys and consultants have extensive experience in drafting proposed laws, regulations, and policy statements related to travel matters, and we regularly monitor legislation, regulations and rulemaking activity, and policy statements issued by executive departments and administrative agencies.
Our services include providing compliance advice on DOT rules, regulations and guidelines and defending our travel clients against administrative enforcement actions and civil penalty proceedings initiated by federal agencies. We understand the implications and practical ramifications of a civil penalty or proposed disciplinary action initiated by a federal agency. We assist clients during each stage of the administrative adjudication process: investigation, issuance of the notice of action or penalty, informal resolution, a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), and any subsequent appeals.
Acquisitions and Divestitures
We regularly negotiate and document complex transactions for our U.S. and foreign clients, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, stock sales and purchases, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and private equity investments. We represent buyers and sellers in all phases of the acquisition process of travel-related and other businesses, including due diligence, the drafting and negotiation of acquisition agreements, preparation of schedules and closing documents, assisting parties in obtaining consents and assignments, and closing transactions.
Corporate and Commercial Matters
McBreen & Kopko's attorneys provide legal services regarding commercial and general business matters and often function as U.S. general counsel for many of our travel clients. We provide assistance to our clients with a wide range of commercial issues and agreements, including negotiations with air carriers, car rental companies, hotel operators, and other vendors. We assist in the drafting and negotiation of marketing agreements and supplier contracts with commercial vendors. Additionally, we handle general corporate matters for clients with respect to formation, fictitious name registration, maintenance, and governance of U.S. corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships.
Trademarks
Our trademark attorneys advise clients on the selection, clearance, registration, maintenance, and enforcement of trade and service marks in the United States and in foreign countries. We provide advice on infringement matters from the prospective of both defending proprietary trade brands and asserting rights against unauthorized third parties. We are also experienced in negotiating and drafting licensing agreements.
In addition, our attorneys assist clients in organizing, developing, and managing their portfolios of intellectual property, including domain names and copyrighted material. We provide legal advice to marketing and advertising departments on a regular basis, when called upon to act as outside general counsel for companies who do not have their own legal department or trademark counsel.
Litigation
Our litigation attorneys represent clients during all phases of litigation and appeals before state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and arbitration tribunals. We have experience prosecuting and defending lawsuits nationwide on behalf of airlines, fixed base operators, aviation service providers, airport landlords and tenants, and other parties. Our practice also includes defense litigation in the areas of airside and non-airside incidents and accidents, product liability, premises liability, employment law, and other aviation-related litigation.
Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights
Our bankruptcy attorneys are experienced in handling a broad spectrum of aviation bankruptcy proceedings, and we have provided legal counsel in all the major air carrier bankruptcies during the last decade, including foreign airline bankruptcies filed under Chapter 15.
We provide advice to creditors on filing and preserving their secured and unsecured claims, and handle various matters during the course of the bankruptcy case, including motions to vacate the automatic stay and to compel assumption or rejection of executory contracts, as an adjunct to the enforcement of creditors’ rights. We are experienced in analyzing preference exposure and available defenses to preference actions and fraudulent conveyance claims that may be brought by the debtor.
We assist aviation service industry clients by both enforcing and defending their rights as creditors and parties to executory contracts and leases. We have experience in negotiating and litigating issues pertaining to the assumption or rejection of executory contracts and leases for non-residential real property, defending claim objections, acquiring critical vendor status, asserting and enforcing administrative claims and reclamation rights, and enforcing the terms and conditions of pre-petition contracts and leases post-bankruptcy filing. During the course of the bankruptcy case we also provide general oversight and review of the plan formulation and confirmation process to preserve and protect our clients’ rights.
Finally, and just as importantly, we can provide good practical advice on how to structure commercial agreements and terms of payment to eliminate or minimize the effects of air carrier (or other) bankruptcies on our clients.