Robert A. Wimbish
Robert A. (“Rob”) Wimbish has devoted his career to various facets of railroad transportation law, with a particular emphasis on commercial transactions, federal regulation of rail carriers, and federal and state initiatives and programs aimed toward promoting freight and passenger transportation by rail. He has represented clients both large and small before federal agencies such as the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”), U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”), and Railroad Retirement Board (“RRB”), and before federal courts. He also advises clients on matters pertaining to state regulation as it affects rail and motor carrier transportation, and on federal legislative developments of interest to the rail industry.
A California native, Rob obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University. After law school and for some 20 years thereafter, Rob’s legal practice was based in Washington, D.C., where he represented railroads and rail-oriented industries before federal agencies, and assisted such clients in negotiating and crafting various commercial agreements. From 2003 through mid-2006, Rob served as an attorney in the STB’s Office of Proceedings, advising Board members on rate cases, passenger service issues, interchange and service disputes, rail line abandonments, and rulemakings, and with routine agency business.
Rob advances and protects his clients’ interests in rail line sales, leases, and abandonments; rail rate and service disputes; projects and litigation raising federal preemption issues; government grant and loan programs; and contract negotiations and disputes; and he also advises clients on RRB coverage matters; construction projects; short line tax credits; railroad consolidations and joint ventures; STB rulemaking proceedings (such as those raising “open access” and “paper barrier” concerns) and FRA and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration safety rules and enforcement matters. As a by-product of his extensive involvement in rail industry matters, Rob also advises clients on environmental law matters associated with transportation infrastructure projects.
Robert A. (“Rob”) Wimbish has devoted his career to various facets of railroad transportation law, with a particular emphasis on commercial transactions, federal regulation of rail carriers, and federal and state initiatives and programs aimed toward promoting freight and passenger transportation by rail. He has represented clients both large and small before federal agencies such as the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”), U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”), and Railroad Retirement Board (“RRB”), and before federal courts. He also advises clients on matters pertaining to state regulation as it affects rail and motor carrier transportation, and on federal legislative developments of interest to the rail industry.
A California native, Rob obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University. After law school and for some 20 years thereafter, Rob’s legal practice was based in Washington, D.C., where he represented railroads and rail-oriented industries before federal agencies, and assisted such clients in negotiating and crafting various commercial agreements. From 2003 through mid-2006, Rob served as an attorney in the STB’s Office of Proceedings, advising Board members on rate cases, passenger service issues, interchange and service disputes, rail line abandonments, and rulemakings, and with routine agency business.
Rob advances and protects his clients’ interests in rail line sales, leases, and abandonments; rail rate and service disputes; projects and litigation raising federal preemption issues; government grant and loan programs; and contract negotiations and disputes; and he also advises clients on RRB coverage matters; construction projects; short line tax credits; railroad consolidations and joint ventures; STB rulemaking proceedings (such as those raising “open access” and “paper barrier” concerns) and FRA and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration safety rules and enforcement matters. As a by-product of his extensive involvement in rail industry matters, Rob also advises clients on environmental law matters associated with transportation infrastructure projects.
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.; Juris Doctorate; (with distinction in the fields of administrative law and bankruptcy and creditor’s rights law)
- Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.; College of Arts and Sciences; BA in Political Science and English Literature; Magna Cum Laude
Bar Admissions
Illinois State Bar
District of Columbia Bar
Virginia State Bar (associate status)
United States District Court – Eastern Michigan
United States Supreme Court
6th Circuit Court of Appeals
Presentations & Publications
- 2015: ASLRRA General Counsel Symposium: “STB Update”
- 2014: ASLRRA General Counsel Symposium: “Recent Developments at the Surface Transportation Board”
- 2014: ASLRRA Annual Meeting: “Hot! Hot! Hot! Railroad Legal Topics”
- 2013: ASLRRA Annual General Counsel Symposium: “An Exploration of Recent STB Decisions and Developments”
- 2013: ASLRRA Annual Meeting: “U.S. Surface Transportation Board Rulemakings 2012-2013”
- “Independent Contractor or Employee? The Owner-Operator Saga Continues,” Direction (Magazine of the American Moving and Storage Association), June 1999
- “Railroads and the Media: Playing it Safe in the Video Era,” Southern Pacific Short Line Network – Short Line Law, Winter 1994