We are one of the few law firms in Idaho that has extensive experience in transportation law within the trucking industry. We assist motor carriers, brokers, and equipment providers with a broad range of legal matters. We assist our clients in forming a corporate structure to provide for liability protection and transportation operational efficiencies. We draft and review significant agreements with shippers, owner-operators, suppliers, and others. Our clients seek our assistance with respect to financing, whether through traditional lenders, venture capitalists, or other sources and in reviewing related documents. When a motor carrier seeks to expand through mergers and acquisitions, we are involved in structuring the transaction, the due diligence process, negotiating the terms of the transaction, and drafting the agreements.
We are also very familiar with independent contractor issues related to the trucking industry. A major issue in the transportation industry is the reclassification of a driver’s status from independent contractor to employee. We have played a significant role in addressing this issue in Idaho. We represented the Idaho Trucking Association in their amicus brief to the Idaho Supreme Court in Western Home Transport, Inc. v. Idaho Department of Labor, in which the court unanimously overturned its previous decision regarding owner-operators, Giltner, Inc. v. Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor. Our attorneys drafted legislation that clarifies the test for an owner-operator to be considered an independent contractor for purposes of Idaho’s Employment Security Law. We continue to assist our clients in protecting the independent contractor status of owner-operators by adopting agreements and policies to reduce the risk of reclassification.