DRI Faculty List
2021 Trucking Law Virtual Primer
May 12, 2021
M. Garner Berry Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen PC
M. Garner Berry is an attorney at Heyl Royster law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, where he practices throughout the state, as well as the southeastern region, with an emphasis on transportation/trucking defense. He has devoted himself to the industry and expanded his representation to include matters involving broker liability, cargo claims, corporate structuring, insurance coverage issues, contract review/formation, employment matters and worker's compensation, all within the transportation industry. Garner also has extensive experience in general litigation, medical malpractice, premises liability, products liability, appellate procedure, corporate transactions, and e-discovery. Garner joined Heyl Royster in 2019 from a successful, well-respected Mississippi based law firm in which he was a shareholder. Garner has developed an extensive civil litigation practice primarily focused in transportation and trucking defense, but also involving many other areas of the law. He has tried many cases to verdict and is a highly respected trucking lawyer in the State of Mississippi. Garner is the Trucking Law Primer Program Chair. |
Rebecca Brewster American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI)
Rebecca Brewster is President and Chief Operating Officer of the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). ATRI is the trucking industry's not-for-profit research organization, whose mission is research to improve the trucking industry's safety and productivity. Rebecca is the recipient of several awards including Fleet Owner magazine's 2016 Dozen Outstanding Women in Trucking, the 2013 Influential Woman in Trucking award from the Women in Trucking Association, and the 2010 J.R. Bob Halladay award given by the 50 state trucking associations. Rebecca has been with ATRI for over 28 years. Prior to that, she was the Public and Governmental Affairs Director for the Cary, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce and a Fleet Analyst with Moen, Inc. Rebecca has a B.A. in English from Wofford College and she is a Fellow of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership. |
Rocky Coe McLane Company
Rocky Coe is the claims manager for McLane Company/Claims Services Inc. Responsibilities include overseeing all Auto and General Liability claims and litigation for McLane Company, Inc. Rocky has over 24 years of insurance claims experience, with 13 of those years in commercial trucking. Rocky spent 11 years with Texas Farm Bureau Insurance handling and supervising Personal Auto, Homeowner, Farm & Ranch, and Commercial Auto and General Liability claims. He holds an Associate in Claims Designation, Senior Claims Law Designation, and completing the Charted Property Casualty Underwriter program for the CPCU designation. He is a graduate of Texas State University where he earned a Bachelor Degree in Exercise and Sports Science. |
MaryJane (MJ) Dobbs Bressler Amery & Ross PC
MaryJane (MJ) Dobbs is a partner in the law firm of Bressler Amery & Ross in Florham Park, New Jersey. She is an active member of DRI and served as the Chair of the DRI Trucking Law Committee for two terms. She was also the Program Chair for 2012 DRI Trucking Law Seminar. Mary Jane is a member of the Board of Directors of TIDA (Trucking Industry Defense Association). |
Danielle I. Foster-Smith Ruan Transport Corporation
Danielle I. Foster-Smith is the Vice President of Legal Services and General Counsel for Ruan Transportation Management Systems, Inc., a family-owned company with over 88 years in the transportation industry and over 300 nationwide locations. Ms. Foster-Smith's responsibilities include litigation management and resolution of the company's legal matters. Ms. Foster-Smith joined Ruan in January 2011 with substantial experience first as an attorney in private practice, followed by a multi-state practice as in-house trial attorney for an insurance company. A graduate of Drake University Law School, Ms. Foster-Smith has also served on the board of directors of numerous nonprofit agencies in the Des Moines, Iowa, community. |
Monica Gardner, MS, CSP McLane Company Inc
Monica Gardner, MS, CSP with McLane Company Inc., is a safety professional with 16 years experience in environmental, safety and health management across multiple industries including steel manufacturing, tire manufacturing, warehousing, and transportation. Graduated from West Virginia University with a Masters of Science in Safety Management. Director of Safety for McLane Company Inc for the past 5 years with responsibilities for Accident/Injury Prevention, OSHA, EPA, and DOT compliance. |
Christopher B. Greene Canal Insurance Co
Christopher B. Greene joined Canal Insurance Company as its General Counsel in January 2009 and in June 2017 took on the additional role as the company's Chief Claims Officer. As the primary legal advisor to the Board and Executive leadership of Canal, Chris provides work product related to corporate governance, litigation management, and all other manner of legal issues confronting Canal. Additionally, as Chief Claims Officer, Chris provides strategic and operational leadership to Canal's claims department relating to all claims units and all associated litigation across the U.S. Previous to joining Canal, Chris served as General Counsel to a division of AIG. He has also served as Corporate Counsel to Progressive Insurance Company and as a Trial Attorney for a Birmingham, Alabama based law firm. He is graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law and is admitted to several state and federal bars. |
Jennifer Hall American Trucking Associations
Jennifer Hall is the general counsel and executive vice president for legal affairs for the American Trucking Associations, the nation's leading organization representing the interests of the trucking industry. As chief counsel, Hall is responsible for ATA's legal affairs, including the ATA Litigation Center. Both ATA and the Litigation Center engage in litigation to advance and protect the interests of the motor carrier industry in federal and state courts around the nation, as a direct party, an intervenor, and as an amicus curiae. ATA also monitors and educates its members about legal developments in courts and legislatures that will affect the motor carrier industry. Prior to coming to ATA, Hall spent a decade as a professional staff member at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, most recently as general counsel and deputy staff director. Earlier in her career, Hall has worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as well as in the private sector. Hall has a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. |
Pamela Springrose Hallford Carr Allison
Pamela Springrose Hallford is a shareholder in the Dothan, Alabama office of Carr Allison. Her practice focuses on the commercial transportation industry, specifically the defense of commercial motor carriers involved in catastrophic accidents. She not only represents these clients after they are involved in accidents, but also offers guidance to transportation companies looking to implement new policies. Pam is a member of the firm's accident investigation GO TEAM. In addition to her transportation work, she offers assistance to a variety of clients throughout Alabama's Wiregrass Region on an array of topics from real estate to premises liability. She is licensed to practice in all state and federal courts in Alabama. Pam acted as 2019 Annual Meeting Vice Chair of the DRI Young Lawyers Steering Committee and the Young Lawyer Liaison to the DRI Trucking Committee. Additionally, she serves as the DRI for Life Vice Chair of the Trucking Committee. Pam is member of the Alabama Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association, Houston County Bar Association, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA) and the Transportation Industry Defense Association (TIDA). Shes serves on the Board of Directors, District III for ADLA's Young Lawyers' Section and the Judicial Fairness Committee for TIDA. Hallford is also active with the Dothan Chamber of Commerce. |
John M. Nunnally Ragsdale Liggett PLLC
John M. Nunnally is an experienced trial lawyer with 25 years of experience, which includes trying over 75 civil cases to verdict. John's experience allows him to provide insight into the specialized challenges facing the commercial transportation industry. He practices in the areas of civil litigation and insurance defense, focusing on trucking/transportation law, construction law, and products liability. John serves on the DRI Trucking Law Steering Committee and is a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association and the NC Trucking Association. |
Christopher T. (Chris) Sheean Swanson Martin & Bell LLP
Christopher T. (Chris) Sheean is a partner at Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP in the Chicago office where he practices in commercial, products liability and intellectual property litigation. He is a past chair of the DRI Commercial Litigation Committee, and is a frequent author and lecturer on products liability, class actions, trade secrets and unfair competition for various publications. Chris is also chair of his firm's Class Action Practice Group. As lead trial counsel, Chris has handled trials throughout the country. He currently serves as a member of the DRI Law Institute and is also an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Law School where he teaches trial advocacy. |