The prestigious Defense Research Institute, the leading organization of defense attorneys and in-house counsel, has appointed Gordon & Rees Philadelphia partner James E. Robinson as vice chair of DRI’s Aviation Law Committee. In a Sept. 6 letter to Robinson, DRI president-elect J. Michael Weston noted that committee chairs and others familiar with each committee recommended Robinson for the post, which DRI officers approved.
Robinson’s appointment is for a one-year term that begins at the conclusion of the 18th DRI Annual Meeting, to be held Oct. 16-20 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. On Oct. 17, he will speak from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at a DRI aviation law panel discussion titled “Criminalization of Foreign Aviation Accidents.” Robinson currently serves as the Aviation Law Committee’s program chair and is a member of DRI’s Product Liability Committee.
Robinson’s practice includes the representation of defendants and plaintiffs in aviation, products liability, commercial litigation, construction and appellate matters. He is a cum laude graduate of Pace University and a cum laude graduate of Pace University School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Pace Law Review. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
DRI hosts more than 25 substantive committees that focus on creating an ongoing and critical dialogue about areas of practice. DRI’s Aviation Law Committee includes attorneys defending the interests of airlines, airports, aircraft component manufacturers and suppliers, fixed base operators, maintenance organizations, aviation brokers, insurers/reinsurers, and publishers of aeronautical data and training facilities. Committee members counsel clients in commercial transactions regarding the purchase and sale of aircraft as well as represent clients in regulatory and enforcement matters before the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and other international agencies and authorities. Committee members also are involved in litigation arising from international and domestic aviation accidents and disputes regarding the performance of aerospace products.