Plunkett Cooney to host webinar on law enforcement drone liability

The use of drones by law enforcement is one of the hottest topics in the public sector today, and an upcoming webinar hosted by Plunkett Cooney – one of the Midwest’s oldest and largest law firms – will focus on what the buzz is all about.

Titled: “Prepare of Takeoff – the Emerging Trend of Drone Use by Law Enforcement,” the complimentary webinar will tackle such issues as the challenge of integrating municipal drones into federal airspace, police search and seizure issues, warrantless search concerns and the applicability of governmental immunity from drone use liability.

“This promises to be a very interesting and detailed look at drone use by law enforcement,” said Audrey Forbush, Plunkett Cooney’s Governmental Law Practice Group Leader. “Our attorneys are on the cutting-edge of this issue as it relates to regulations, liability and insurance coverage.”

Led by moderator and Plunkett Cooney partner Bill Reising, the hour-long webinar will take place on Thursday, Nov. 12, from noon to 1 p.m. Public safety and municipal officials are invited to attend the webinar, which will also feature remarks by attorney Matthew Berard, an FAA-certified private pilot, and his colleagues Rochelle Ralph and Jason Bulbuk of the firm’s Governmental Law Practice Group.

Reising is the managing partner of the firm’s Flint, Michigan, office and a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Litigation Practice Group. With nearly 45 years of experience, he concentrates his practice on litigation defense in the areas of municipal liability, general negligence, product liability and professional negligence.

Berard is an attorney with Plunkett Cooney in Detroit whose practice includes insurance coverage representing insurers in a wide variety of insurance coverage disputes and medical malpractice. A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Berard serves as membership chair of the DRI Aviation Law Committee. He is also a member of the DRI Insurance Law Committee, the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, the Aviation Insurance Associa­tion, the Michigan Business Aviation Association, and the Aviation Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.

A member of Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office, Ralph is an attorney in the firm’s Insurance, Professional and Govern­mental Law Department. She focuses her practice in the areas of governmental law, medical liability and professional liability. She is a member of the Genesee County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan.

Bulbuk is an attorney in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office and a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Tort & Litigation and Labor & Employment Law practice groups. He focuses his litigation practice on claims related to municipal, employment and retail liability, as well as foodservice and hospitality law. He is a member of the Oakland County, Michigan and Federal bar associations.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney employs 150 attorneys in nine Michigan cities, Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm, which provides a range of transactional and litigation services, has one of the state’s most accomplished governmental law and municipal liability practices. The firm represents numerous municipalities directly and through insurance providers, namely the Michigan Municipal Liability and Property Pool.

For more information about the Nov. 12 drone liability webinar, contact Plunkett Cooney’s Director of Marketing & Business Development John Cornwell at (248) 901-4008 or jcornwell@ plunkettcooney.com. Members of the media are welcome to attend the webinar.