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Attorney By Attorney
Career Profiles of the Profession
Who?
What?
Primary Practice Area:
Airport contracts, concentrating in the concession, government and
aviation-business areas.
When?
Years in Practice Area:
Since 1993
Years in the Legal Profession:
Since 1984
Where?
Employer:
Airport Authority of Washoe County
http://www.renoairport.com
Size/Sector:
Medium-hub and
general-aviation airports
City/State:
Reno, Nevada
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Law School:
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Undergraduate School/Degree:
Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA; English, cum
laude, Phi Beta Kappa
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Why?
Pluses/Challenges of Practice Area:
Balancing diversities of substantive areas (e.g., airlines, concessions,
non-aviation development) and of legal requirements ranging from
federal statutes and regulations - especially post-September 11
- to local building codes and zoning ordinances; balancing the
legal requirements and aspects with business concerns, as airports
are revenue and not tax-funded enterprises, and with local community
issues..
Core Skills/Key Knowledge Needed in Practice Area:
Awareness of the range of legal requirements for various airport
and aviation industry operations and activities; thorough knowledge
of contracts and administrative law principles; very good writing
skills; "legal creativity" when confronted with a problem or a
new issue. In doing airport work, a healthy appreciation of the
Three Stooges is occasionally beneficial.
Advice to Law Students/Lawyers Interested in Your Practice
Area:
Join the ABA Forum on Air and Space Law; attend airport/aviation
industry conferences, seminars, etc., even those outside the legal
profession or dealing with "law practice" as such.
How?
Career Path
- Departed large Pittsburgh insurance coverage and defense firm,
which had imposed a minimum 2,400 billable hours requirement
over and above nonbillable marketing assignments.
- After
a very brief tenure at a small, "general practice"
firm, had an opportunity as Noise Abatement/Community Relations
Officer for Allegheny County (PA) Department of Aviation at
Pittsburgh International Airport, overseeing federally funded
"Part 150" residential soundproofing program.
- Promoted to Contract Administrator Supervisor, handling airline,
cargo, concession and nonaviation leases and projects.
- Departed Pittsburgh International after a change in governing
County administration.
- One year as Properties Manager for Lehigh- Northampton Airport
Authority, Allentown, PA.
- Recruited by Airport Authority of Washoe County, which had
interviewed me for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise/Affirmative
Action Coordinator upon my "departure" from Pittsburgh International,
for Property Administrator II position handling Terminal and
rental-car concession contracts at Reno/Tahoe International
Airport and government and aviation-business leases at Reno
Stead Airport, general-aviation facility.
Influences and Mentors:
Thomas R. Jargiello, Esq., Kansas City Dept. of Aviation, Kansas
City, MO; Marjorie Brink, Leigh Fisher Associates, San Francisco,
CA; Sheri Ernico, San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco,
CA.
Suggested Reading About Your Practice Area:
The Air & Space Lawyer (ABA, Forum on
Air and Space Law, quarterly)
Nuts! (Herb Kelleher)
Job Search Techniques Used in Finding Business:
Joined the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE);
got active in speaking at or at least attending airport/aviation
industry conferences, within and outside the legal profession.
Bar Affiliations and Activities:
American Bar Association (Forum on Air and Space Law;
Assistant Editor, The Air & Space Lawyer; Government and Public
Sector Lawyers Division; Member, Professional Development Committee);
Pennsylvania Bar Association (Member, Government Lawyers Committee).
Recent Professional Publications:
Allocation of Economic Risk in Nonaeronautical Airport
Revenue Contracts, The Air & Space Lawyer, vol. 16, no. 3 (Winter
2002).
Recent Professional Presentations:
How to Print Money and Stay Out of the Territorial
Jail, presentation, Enhancing Airport Revenues, Airports Council
International-North America (ACI-NA) Economic Specialty Conference,
Tucson, AZ, May 2003
Money? I remember the stuff!' (A tribute to Moe, Larry
and Curly), presentation, Greens Fees for a Better Bottom
Line? Development of Non-Aviation Concession Revenues, American
Association Of Airport Executives (AAAE) Annual Conference and
Exposition, Los Angeles, CA, April 2003
Politics Rule Some Airports, Others Tackle the Problem,
quoted in article, Airport Revenue News, March 2003
New Strategies in Concession Contracts: Walking Through
the New World of Airport Security...Without Stepping In It,
presentation, AAAE Annual Conference, Dallas, TX, May 2002
Allocation of Economic Risk in Nonaeronautical Airport
Revenue Contracts, article, The Air and Space Lawyer, vol.
16, no. 3, Winter 2002
Memorable Career Moment:
First presentation at an airports conference, the Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University Concessions Analysis Seminar, Denver, CO,
November 1995, presenting my paper, The Contractual and Public-Relations
Perils of 'Street Pricing', work on Roadway Services Corporation
development project at Pittsburgh International, 1995; overseeing
Concessions Master Plan implementation, Reno/Tahoe International,
2000 present.
Intriguing Interests:
Horseback riding; animal behavior/intelligence; anthropology;
marine biology.
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