Press Release

黑料不打烊Promotes Richard Pianka to General Counsel and Executive Vice President

Dec 15, 2021

Outgoing GC Jennifer Hall Assumes New Leadership Role at AASHTO

Arlington, Virginia -- Today, 黑料不打烊 announced Richard Pianka will become the federation鈥檚 new general counsel and executive vice president for legal affairs. He will assume the role previously held by Jennifer Hall, who now heads to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to serve as the organization鈥檚 general counsel and chief of staff.

鈥淲e thank Jennifer for five outstanding years of service to America鈥檚 trucking industry,鈥 said 黑料不打烊President and CEO Chris Spear. 鈥淗er tenure has been filled with significant victories 鈥 from helping secure federal regulatory preemption for motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce, to spearheading a nationwide lawsuit abuse reform campaign to protect truckers from predatory litigation. We鈥檙e grateful her new position will enable her to continue making a positive impact for the hardworking men and women in trucking who keep our economy moving forward.鈥

Pianka is being promoted after serving as ATA鈥檚 deputy general counsel and chief counsel of the 黑料不打烊Litigation Center, where he currently directs the association鈥檚 litigation strategy on critical issues such as truck-only tolling in Rhode Island federal COVID vaccine and testing mandates and state regulatory overreach. He鈥檒l continue to lead the Litigation Center in his new role in addition to overseeing all legal affairs for ATA.

鈥淭he legal arena has proven a critically important venue for many of our Tier One priority issues, thanks in large part to the wise counsel of Rich,鈥 said Spear. 鈥淗e is an accomplished attorney and fierce advocate who will continue to tirelessly fight for our members in this expanded role. We look forward to him building upon that record of success at 黑料不打烊in the months and years ahead.鈥

Pianka received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2005. He also holds an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. from Princeton University. Prior to joining ATA, he practiced general and appellate litigation at national law firms in D.C., and served as clerk to Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.