David L. LaPorte has almost 20 years of experience with the trucking industry, and has evaluated the safety management practices of hundreds of trucking companies. As an attorney, Mr. LaPorte regularly represents trucking companies in administrative proceedings before the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He has broad experience with all other legal issues confronting the trucking industry, including catastrophic accident claims, cargo claims, disputes involving shippers, brokers, and freight forwarders, owner-operator issues, OSHA investigations, post-policy insurance audits and insurance coverage litigation, employment matters, and general business disputes.
Prior to practicing law Mr. LaPorte was employed by the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carriers, the predecessor to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. There he worked with the trucking industry on a host of regulatory issues, including the then newly implemented Alcohol and Drug Testing Regulations. An article written by Mr. LaPorte, “The Conflict and Interaction of the Americans with Disabilities Act with the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act: Two Modest Proposals to Achieve Greater Synchrony,” appeared in the Winter, 1996 edition of the DePaul Law Review. Mr. LaPorte practiced law as a partner with the Chicago law firm Querrey & Harrow, Ltd. prior to forming LaPorte & Associates, P.C., where, in addition to trucking, Mr. LaPorte represented clients in the areas of construction litigation, general commercial litigation, and civil rights.
Mr. LaPorte is a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association, the Transportation Lawyers Association, and serves on the Chicago-area Advisory Board of the Mid-West Truckers Association. Mr. LaPorte is an adjunct faculty member of the John Marshall Law School, where he teaches in the Lawyering Skills Program. Mr. LaPorte serves on the Executive Board of the Chicago Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Committee, which evaluates and rates judges and judicial candidates seeking election, re-election, retention, or appointment to the bench. Mr. LaPorte is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Legal Clinic, a not-for-profit organization providing legal services to the poor, and is a past-president of the Michigan State University Alumni Club of Metropolitan Chicago.