Fletcher & Sippel, Legal Expertise in the Rail Industry
Fletcher & Sippel LLC is based in Chicago, the rail hub of America. Our practice is concentrated on serving clients that are involved in the transportation industry, with a focus on the rail industry. Our clients include railroads, operators, government agencies, suppliers, lessors, lessees, manufacturers, private equity groups, banks, motor carriers, and a host of others.
We have experienced business counselors, transaction practitioners, trial attorneys, regulatory counsel and labor negotiators. We deal comprehensively with the business of our transportation clients, whether it be structuring acquisitions, counseling operating and marketing officers or litigating injury and commercial claims.
Fletcher & Sippel, Legal Expertise in the Rail Industry
Fletcher & Sippel LLC is based in Chicago, the rail hub of America. Our practice is concentrated on serving clients that are involved in the transportation industry, with a focus on the rail industry. Our clients include railroads, operators, government agencies, suppliers, lessors, lessees, manufacturers, private equity groups, banks, motor carriers, and a host of others.
We have experienced business counselors, transaction practitioners, trial attorneys, regulatory counsel and labor negotiators. We deal comprehensively with the business of our transportation clients, whether it be structuring acquisitions, counseling operating and marketing officers or litigating injury and commercial claims.
At Fletcher & Sippel, we face the crucible of litigation daily, from the most routine personal injury claims to high-stakes commercial litigation. Our litigators routinely take personal injury and commercial cases to trial and obtain successful verdicts. We are on the cutting edge of developing new legal theories, and many of the reported cases in which we represented clients have become established legal precedent.Fletcher & Sippel actively trains new litigators through enrollment at the trial advocacy school sponsored by the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel.
Areas of litigation include:
+ FELA
+ Claim Counseling
+ Grade Crossing, Trespasser & Pedestrian Accidents
+ Commercial Disputes
+ ICCTA Preemption
Despite “deregulation” the railroad industry remains one of the most regulated industries in the country. As regulatory counsel, Fletcher & Sippel helps guide our railroad clients through the maze of federal and state regulatory requirements affecting their business. The firm’s regulatory attorneys help clients accomplish their objectives within this arcane and often complicated regulatory structure. The value of this expertise expands well beyond regulatory proceedings. The knowledge of the regulatory process enables our attorneys to provide valuable insight on how to structure deals, draft contracts, operate business and negotiate disputes.
Commercial Transactions
Fletcher & Sippel has handled virtually every type of railroad-related commercial transaction. We have drafted and negotiated a host of Class I, II and III mergers and acquisitions, line sales, trackage rights and other joint facilities, marketing agreements, and construction and supply contracts.
Labor & Employment
Fletcher & Sippel LLC attorneys have counseled and litigated in virtually every aspect of railroad and rail-related employment matters. Naturally, we are very familiar with the unique procedures and requirements of the Railway Labor Act.
General Counsel Service
A unique aspect of Fletcher & Sippel’s law practice is the role that several of its attorneys perform as “General Counsel” for rail-related companies. In fact, over half of our partners have served as in-house counsel for Class I and II railroads.
Government & Passenger Rail
Fletcher & Sippel has represented several state Departments of Transportation and a number of local governments in pursuing both passenger and freight projects to acquire and operate lines of railroads.