Global law firm Reed Smith has hired Julia Norsetter, JD, formerly a senior policy advisor at the US Department of Transportation, as the policy and analysis lead for the firm’s global Transportation Industry Group.
In the newly created role, Norsetter will provide analysis and strategic input, as well as sharing insights into the transportation market, specifically in shipping, and aviation and advanced air mobility – representing a number of Reed Smith’s key sectors.
Norsetter brings valuable senior experience to the firm and its clients, having previously developed a range of strategic policies at the U.S. Department of Transportation, including on emerging transportation and advanced air mobility, in alignment with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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Based in the Washington, D.C. office, Norsetter will work with all of the attorneys in the group’s global practice, reporting directly to Richard Hakes, chair of Reed Smith’s Transportation Industry Group.
“I am delighted to welcome Julia to the firm. We have been actively searching for someone who can provide analysis and policy intelligence, and who has a broad industry knowledge, in support of the attorneys and clients in our global group. This represents a significant and market-leading enhancement to our client offering, and Julia is the perfect fit,” Hakes, who leads the group from the firm’s London office, said.
“Our clients in the transportation sector are continuously having to adapt to the changing political, environmental, regulatory and technological landscape, especially over the past three turbulent years. We are routinely involved in many of the most complex and challenging transactions and cases in the market. Having Julia on board to provide significant industry intelligence, and specifically to analyse the market and strategise on the challenges and opportunities ahead, will provide great value to our clients and to our business.”
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“The establishment of this unique and progressive role advising in the transportation industry is consistent with Reed Smith’s goal to innovate and deliver value to clients. We are delighted to welcome Julia to the team in Washington, and in supporting the firm’s global effort,” Douglas Cameron, Reed Smith Managing Partner – Americas, added.
“Reed Smith has a world-class reputation in the shipping and aviation space and I am thrilled to be joining such a standout group. The transportation sector is undergoing huge change in regards to regulations, environmental considerations, evolving technologies, markets changes, and new trends. With my support and longstanding background in transportation, we will be able to enhance the support to clients, providing them with strategic advice that will allow us to harness market opportunities in the evolving transportation landscape,” Norsetter, who graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, said.
Reed Smith has advised the transportation industry for nearly a century and its services have evolved to match the needs of clients. The transportation practice covers the full spectrum of legal needs for stakeholders in the industry, including owners, operators, manufacturers and investors, whether they move people or goods, by sea or by air, manufacture or invest in ships, aircraft, spacecraft or components, or anything else the future might hold.
