Automotive

Additional Specialties

• Supply Chain, Commercial Operations, & Technology
  Automotive companies depend on complex relationships among OEMs, suppliers, distributors, logistics providers, and dealers. When those relationships break down or change, the effects can reach production schedules, sourcing decisions, delivery obligations, and customer commitments. AGG helps automotive clients structure and manage these relationships through customer and supplier agreements, purchasing and sales terms, OEM contract compliance, transportation arrangements, and risk allocation designed for the realities of automotive manufacturing.
  
  Technology is also transforming automotive products and operations. Our attorneys counsel clients on intellectual property to secure global brand and patent protection, including IP portfolio management, procurement, licensing, along with IP enforcement and defense involving connected vehicles, autonomous driving systems, software-defined vehicles, advanced battery technologies, EV charging infrastructure, automotive components and emerging mobility platforms. As these products generate and rely on more data, we also address privacy, cybersecurity, branding, and related issues that can affect development and commercialization.
• Regulatory, Compliance, & Environmental
  Automotive companies face regulatory obligations that extend from product safety and reporting to manufacturing operations and environmental compliance. AGG counsels clients on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) requirements, product safety, recalls, Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (“TREAD”) Act reporting, and compliance programs designed for complex, multi-tier supply chains. We also help companies assess governance and risk issues associated with connected, data-driven, and other emerging automotive technologies.
  
  Environmental obligations are often closely connected to manufacturing, facility development, and battery operations. Our attorneys assist with permitting, air and water compliance, brownfield redevelopment, spill reporting, and issues involving toxic substances and underground storage tanks. We also counsel on environmental considerations associated with battery manufacturing, storage, recycling, and disposal, as well as EV infrastructure and environmental due diligence in business and real estate transactions.
• Transactions, Investments, & Expansion
  Investment, consolidation, and expansion in the automotive sector often require coordinated legal support across corporate, financing, real estate, and development matters. AGG works with automotive companies, investors, and lenders on acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, strategic alliances, cross-border investments, financings, and restructurings. Our role includes helping clients address diligence, regulatory review, transaction structure, and integration issues that can affect timing, execution, and enterprise value.
  
  Our work continues beyond the transaction itself. When clients establish or expand manufacturing plants, distribution centers, dealerships, or related infrastructure, we assist with site acquisition, leasing, zoning, entitlements, construction, permitting, and economic development incentives. We also counsel automotive companies on dealer, distributor, licensing, sales, and service structures that support how vehicles, components, and related services reach the market.
• Workforce, Labor, & Global Mobility
  Automotive employers operate in environments where labor and employment issues can quickly affect production, staffing, and business continuity. AGG advises organizations in both union and non-union settings on workplace policies, collective bargaining, representation matters, wage-and-hour issues, restrictive covenants, employee benefits, and employment disputes. We also represent employers in unfair labor practice proceedings, strikes, injunction matters, and other labor-related disputes that can have immediate operational consequences.
  
  For automotive companies with international manufacturing and management teams, workforce needs frequently cross borders. Our Global Mobility attorneys help employers move personnel among U.S. and international operations through temporary visas, permanent residence, intracompany transfers, and employer compliance programs, supporting the movement of technical, management, and other key employees where they are needed.
• Disputes, Product Liability, & Litigation
  Automotive disputes often involve more than the immediate legal claim. A supplier dispute can threaten production, a warranty or product liability matter can affect customer relationships, and a distribution dispute can interrupt sales or service operations. AGG represents automotive companies in commercial, product liability, intellectual property, contract, employment, regulatory, insolvency, and cross-border disputes in courts, administrative proceedings, and international arbitration.
  
  Our attorneys handle matters involving supplier performance, commercial agreements, distribution relationships, warranties, and safety-critical systems and components. We develop litigation strategies with business consequences in mind, including the potential effect on production, delivery, and ongoing commercial relationships, while actively managing discovery and case costs.