Meet WSTA’s Legal Team

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Ellison, Whalen & Blackburn – Attorneys at Law

Representing WSTA Legally & Legislatively Since 2002

Brooks Ellison is the managing partner of Ellison Wilson Advocacy and was admitted into the California Bar in 1986.

Led by experienced attorneys Brooks Ellison, Pat Whalen and Kirk Blackburn, the law firm of Ellison, Whalen & Blackburn – Attorneys at Law have protected the rights of our clients throughout the federal and state court systems and administrative agencies, notably winning several key, precedential legal victories for our clients. Having also served as long-time General Counsel for several clients, we are seasoned in providing sophisticated analysis and advice on sensitive legal matters for non- and for-profit corporations and individuals on both short-term unexpected issues and long-term strategic goals.

Collectively our attorneys have over 70 years of legal experience and have handled thousands of civil litigation cases, including serving as lead counsel in more than one

Pat Whalen was admitted into the California Bar in 1994, and was formerly with the California Attorney General’s Office. He is licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

hundred appellate cases before the California Courts of Appeals and extensive trial practice. Further, our attorneys have argued cases before the California Supreme Court and appellate cases in front of the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Additionally, Ellison, Whalen & Blackburn understands that many of its clients want to stay out of court and thus, has developed an extensive transactional practice to preemptively protect the interests of our clients in t

heir interactions with competitors, employees, regulators, and other public entities. This includes drafting and negotiating contracts, forming legal entities and corporations, advising on general governance, commercial and compliance matters, developing personnel policies, as well as counseling our clients on real estate, regulatory, intellectual property and licensing matters, amongst many others.

Kirk Blackburn was admitted into the California Bar in 2006 and joined our legal team in 2007.

In addition to the history of successes in the courtroom and boardroom, our attorneys have also successfully represented our clients at the California’s State Capitol as legislative and regulatory advocates through their sister firm, Ellison Wilson Advocacy, LLC since 1980. Being at the epicenter of the convergence of all three branches of government allows us to see issues from multiple perspectives and attack those issues on multiple fronts.

Notably, we have served as long-time General Counsel and lobbyists for the Western States Trucking Association (WSTA) and have been at the forefront of many of its legal and legislative battles, including filing a lawsuit and negotiating with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) over its Truck and Bus Rule, fighting for the owner-operator business model that the trucking industry has been successfully utilizing for decades, statutorily securing a broker bond, as well as a host of other key fights over prevailing wages, drug and alcohol testing, meal and rest periods, hours-of-service, and insurance requirements, to name a few.

Ellison, Whalen & Blackburn is located a block away from the State Capitol in Sacramento, yet handles cases and clients throughout California. Please contact us at (916) 448-2187 or attorneys@ellisonlawoffices.com for further information.

Editor’s Note: WSTA’s attorneys will make themselves available to our members for a discounted fee of $2,000 to make an evaluation of their vulnerability under the A-B-C test.

Western States Trucking Association Launches Insurance Subsidiary

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Upland, CA., July 3, 2018– Western States Trucking Association announced recently the formation of WSTA Insurance Services as part of their ongoing mission to provide high quality products and services to its membership. Insurance services will complement the other business units providing services to members that include American Alliance Drug Testing and American Alliance Authority & Compliance. The new operation will be located within association headquarters at 334 N. Euclid, Upland, Ca. 91786. Read more

UCR 2018 Registration Delayed Until Further Notice; Fees Likely to Drop

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The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) fee for 2018 cannot be paid yet. This is because the UCR Board has approved a rate reduction for 2018 and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has yet to approve the new fee structure. We will continue to monitor when carriers can pay their UCR fee for 2018.

Many of our members are getting unsolicited letters and emails from third-parties attempting to scare them into paying the third-party to file their 2018 UCR fee. Oftentimes the fee plus an unnecessary service fee charge is multiples of the actual UCR fee. You can pay your UCR fee directly for no additional fee by going to this link –https://www.ucr.in.gov/ucrHome.html

Below is a notice to motor carriers about this delay from the UCR Board.

UCR fees are ONLY applicable to interstate authorized motor carriers. Additionally, if you have trucks that do not go outside your base-state you can legally exempt those vehicle from your vehicle totals in order to reduce your UCR fee. If you have any questions call the office (909) 982-9898.