Legal Services
The Wicks Group provides specialized legal services to clients with aviation-related interests. Our professionals work seamlessly as a team to provide our clients with outstanding service. We guide our clients through complex regulatory matters, help them structure and accomplish commercial transactions, and strategize with them on how best to anticipate and respond to legal issues that may arise in the course of their operations. Our expertise extends across the areas of regulatory law, commercial transactions, aircraft financing, international law and regulation, immigration, customs, and hazardous materials shipping, among others. The quality and effectiveness of the services we provide are reflected in the fact that we enjoy long-standing relationships with many of our clients.
Regulatory Process Work
The firm regularly secures various types of governmental approvals and handles other regulatory matters for both start-up and established air carriers. These matters involve interface with federal agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Treasury Department, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Federal Communications Commission, Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Defense. The work includes obtaining necessary certifications for domestic and foreign airlines planning to operate in the U.S.; assisting clients with slot exemption proceedings, route transfer cases, and evidentiary proceedings; preparing responsive pleadings to competing carrier requests for operating authority; and explaining procedures, foreign pricing regimes, and U.S. enforcement mechanisms.
We regularly assist foreign air carriers in obtaining flight authorizations and landing rights approvals in both contested and uncontested proceedings. We also help both domestic and foreign clients understand and comply with U.S. noise regulations and security requirements.
Enforcement Action Resolution
The firm regularly represents clients in economic and safety enforcement matters before the FAA and other government agencies. For example, we successfully represented a foreign airline in emergency proceedings before the State Department, DOT, FAA, and the Treasury Department to achieve the release of a seized aircraft. We also helped a U.S. repair station resolve several significant enforcement actions involving the licensing of aircraft parts and components and helped a large domestic aircraft parts manufacturer with manufacturing approval and enforcement matters. The firm also regularly helps clients resolve Customs, IRS, and USDA sanctions and airport slot restriction issues.
Foreign Government Interface
The Wicks Group routinely works with domestic and foreign airlines and aircraft manufacturers on matters involving the regulatory systems of foreign governments. These include the governments of Canada, Great Britain, the European Union, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Trinidad and Tobago, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, and Kenya. We also regularly advise foreign airlines and their governments in their policy-related interactions with U.S. government agencies, including the negotiation of bilateral air transport agreements.
Our other work in this area includes assisting foreign airlines and their governments in navigating International Aviation Safety Administration (IASA) and related International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety oversight proceedings. Our expertise is reflected in the fact that our staff have participated in efforts to harmonize the Federal Aviation Regulations and Joint Aviation Regulations and have served as advisors in ICAO General Assembly sessions.
Commercial Transactions
We regularly draft and negotiate joint marketing agreements between domestic and foreign airlines, licensing and consulting agreements between product and service suppliers and purchases, and many other types of complex commercial arrangements. We advise airlines on all aspects of code-share arrangements, including commercial issues, regulatory compliance, potential liability, and other legal issues, and assist them with negotiating and implementing the code-sharing arrangements.
We also provide corporate structuring and transactional advice to clients in connection with changes to the organization of their enterprises and acquisition or disposition of subsidiaries and business units. Our experience includes supporting a major U.S. airline through its acquisition by another U.S. airline.
Airport Services
Our attorneys have extensive experience in assisting airport authorities, operators, and service providers. The firm regularly advises airport operators on issues involving commercial agreements, management and operations agreements, real property leases, and bankruptcy matters. We also provide legal advice to airports and airport oversight entities regarding compliance with FAA regulations, including grant assurances, noise regulations, and safety oversight. TWG routinely advises local and state government agencies and airport management firms on compliance with other federal and state regulations that affect airport and airport users. In addition, we advise government entities and private-sector bidders on airport development and use and airport privatization issues. The firm also assists aviation fueling service providers and other types of service providers in the preparation of responses to requests for proposals by airport authorities in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada, as well as with negotiation of and compliance with the resulting contracts.
Aircraft Finance
The firm assists both domestic and foreign airlines with aircraft finance transactions, including negotiating and drafting purchase and sale agreements for new and used aircraft, wet-lease and dry-lease arrangements, and other commercial documentation for equipment financing. We have extensive experience with cross-border financing and leasing transactions, including those financed through major international and U.S. institutions, including the U.S. Export-Import Bank. We also assist clients in setting up ownership trusts and interfacing with U.S. and foreign government agencies on aircraft acquisition-related issues.
Private and Corporate Aircraft Operations
The firm routinely provides legal, regulatory, and technical services to various types of private and corporate aviation entities, such as charter operators/brokers, aircraft management companies, fractional programs, financial institutions, and fixed base operators. We advise such clients on the development of aircraft ownership and operating structures; aircraft acquisition, financing and leasing; and regulatory compliance. Our experience in this area includes representing FAR 125 certificate holders from several foreign countries in their aircraft operations. We also represent foreign corporations in the U.S. registration and international operation of their corporate aircraft. In addition, we provide technical assistance to private and corporate aircraft operators in the development, review, and analysis of their operations and maintenance manuals.
Immigration/Visas
The Wicks Group professionals have substantial experience with U.S. immigration requirements and regularly assist our clients with obtaining visas and permits needed for foreign staff employed in their U.S. operations. We also help our clients resolve immigration-related sanctions when these occur.
Hazardous Materials Transportation
Our attorneys have extensive experience in helping consumer product manufacturers, chemical manufacturers, airlines, freight forwarders and transporters, and others resolve hazardous materials transportation issues. We advise clients on appropriate compliance with hazardous materials regulations and also help them obtain exemptions and approvals from the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Agency (PHMA). Our firm also represents clients in proposed civil penalty cases before the FAA and PHMA and often achieves substantial reductions or eliminations of proposed fines. Our professionals also provide preventive guidance to the industry, regularly authoring hazardous materials transportation-related articles for prominent trade publications.
Security Clearance
The firm is experienced in obtaining various types of security clearances needed by aviation clients. These include Department of Homeland Security Transportation Safety Administration waivers and exemptions, as well as approvals for security programs developed by domestic and foreign air carriers. Our professionals also assist clients with Department of Defense individual and facility clearance issues.
Consulting Services
The Wicks Group provides a wide array of consulting services to aviation sector clients. Our professionals are skilled in helping foreign civil aviation agencies bring their systems into compliance with international “best practices” or standards, developing regulations and related guidance materials for civil aviation authorities, helping aviation-related organizations develop and document policies and procedures to better achieve their strategic goals, assisting air carriers with certification/recertification efforts, supporting client decision-making with briefing materials and group facilitation, writing technical documents, providing business planning advice, and conducting rate studies and related analyses. Many of our consulting clients are “repeat customers”, attesting to their satisfaction with the quality and usefulness of our consulting services.
Civil Aviation Agency Regulatory and Infrastructure Development
The Wicks Group assists foreign civil aviation agencies with the development or enhancement of their regulatory structures and related infrastructures by providing a mix of legal and consulting services, as appropriate for the particular client. Services provided often include: regulatory review, regulatory drafting, work group facilitation, pre-audit inspections and development of recommendations for improvement, and recommendation implementation support. As examples, we helped the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia develop and implement new economic licensing regulations; we helped the Civil Republic of Cape Verde prepare new safety regulations, build related infrastructures, and develop documentation manuals, allowing it to achieve FAA Category 1 status; and we conducted a multi-part project for the civil aviation authority of a former Soviet Union Republic to assess its readiness for a U.S. FAA/ IASA audit.
Airport Services
The Wicks Group PLLC provides a broad range of consulting services to clients in the airports sector. Our consultants offer decades of experience in airport management and advisory services, and routinely assist clients in airport business ventures, regulatory compliance and analysis of the airports sector. Our consulting client base spans airport authorities, airport operators/managers, and service providers such as FBOs and fuel-farm operators.
We regularly advise airport operators on airport governance matters, as well as commercial issues such as airport management arrangements. Our consultants are adept at evaluating business opportunities in the airports sector from a variety of perspectives. This work often encompasses business plan development or assessment as well as supporting analytical/quantitative analysis, such as traffic forecasting and pricing studies.
We also routinely assist airports and airport oversight agencies with regulatory compliance in such areas as grant assurances, noise regulations and safety oversight. In addition, we advise government entities and private sector bidders on airport development and use and airport privatization issues.
The firm also regularly assists aviation service providers in preparing and responding to requests for proposals by airport authorities and civil aviation oversight agencies.
International Safety Inspection
The Wicks Group regularly assists foreign governments with inspections of operators that are registered within their borders, but that have aircraft in the U.S. These inspections are directed at enabling the foreign government authorities to maintain detailed and effective oversight of their operators, as required by ICAO standards. The Wicks Group facilitates coordination of safety efforts between respective foreign aviation authorities and the FAA International Flight Standards office in order to strengthen the validity and mutual acceptance of such inspection efforts.
Airline Certification/Recertification
The Wicks Group often provides consulting services to foreign airlines undergoing a certification or recertification process. Our work encompasses consulting on the full array of safety, operational, and maintenance issues that must be addressed to ensure airlines are compliant with the specific national requirements to which they are subject. Our work in this area typically includes: developing the overall work plan for accomplishing the certification/recertification process; revising existing management, operations, and maintenance practices and documentation; developing new or improved procedures and documentation; and assisting airline management with monitoring and troubleshooting related to the certification/recertification process. An example of this work is our successful effort to assist BWIA West Indies Airways with a full recertification required as a result of newly adopted civil aviation regulations.
Russia/CIS Expertise
The Wicks Group provides a wide range of aviation-related services to companies from Russia and other former countries of the Soviet Union. Our work includes strategic business planning and marketing support, negotiation of agreements, visa facilitation, and an array of regulatory facilitation or support services. It also includes helping such countries bring their civil aviation agency structures and functions and relevant air carrier practices into compliance with international standards and best practices.
Strategic Business Planning and Marketing Support
The Wicks Group regularly provides strategic advice to foreign and private airlines on the selection of business partners, based on an understanding of clients needs and proffered commercial terms, and on marketing their services in the U.S. We advise them on approaches to doing business in the U.S. as well as on their arrangements with U.S. business partners. We also negotiate agency agreements relating to marketing and support services to be performed by domestic and international agents on behalf of foreign corporations. The firm also assists investor groups with decisions involving both U.S. and foreign airlines, including providing assessment of domestic and international route structures.
Business Process Documentation/Improvement
The firm assists aviation-related organizations with documenting and improving their business processes, often preparing or revising policies and procedures manuals and offering recommendations for streamlining or strengthening various business functions. As an example, we helped FAA managers and staff fully implement a Flight Service Center concept. For that project, we refined the proposed content and organization of various manuals needed to implement the concept, provided the technical expertise needed to develop manual content; drafted new or revised sections for the manuals, facilitated work group discussions of draft manual sections; and prepared the manuals in final form.
Technical Writing
The Wicks Group provides technical document development and revision services to both public and private sector clients. Our professionals typically draft the technical manual or handbook content, manage and facilitate client internal or external work groups tasked with reviewing draft materials, and prepare the final versions of the technical documents. We have provided such services to numerous civil aviation authorities. We also have assisted several air carriers in developing the various technical manuals needed to obtain and maintain FAA certification. Our technical writing projects demonstrate our unique ability to combine substantive subject matter expertise, technical writing skill, and publication design abilities to produce high quality manuals and other documents.
Publication Design
The Wicks Group has an established cadre of graphic designers and other publication design, layout, and production staff as well as editors and proofreaders who we use to prepare publications for public and private clients. Our work in this area includes producing “camera-ready” handbooks for publication by the Government Printing Office (GPO) or commercial printing company. It also includes less-intensive services for projects in which the client wants a professionally designed manual cover or other product, but not necessarily a full professional layout and production effort.
