NASHVILLE — Bone McAllester Norton has expanded its Entrepreneurial and Emerging Business Law practice group to include legal services in the area of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones.
James E. Mackler, veteran attorney and Bonelaw member, is the lead attorney focused on the increasingly complex system of state and federal laws regarding the commercial use of drones. Joining Mackler with a focus in the area of UAS are attorneys Richard J. Nickels and Stephen J. Zralek. These three attorneys have extensive experience in entrepreneurship, commercial law, aviation, protection of intellectual property, privacy concerns and regulatory compliance, according to firm officials.
“With the FAA’s injunction to integrate drones into commercial airspace and the designation of 16 test sites nationwide, the growing opportunities — and risks — associated with drones cannot be ignored,” Mackler said. “We have a strong group of attorneys with sophisticated experience that will be able to provide counsel to individuals and corporations wanting to leverage the power of UAS within existing business models or seeking to start a new venture within the UAS sphere.”
The firm’s first UAS-centered client is Farmspace Systems created to help farmers obtain a high level of situational awareness of threats to their crops, much like that of military commanders who need to detect threats to their troops. Farmspace was founded by a team of military veterans, who, in previous careers, applied UAS technology on the battlefield.
For more information: BoneLaw.com
Wait a minute here! If we general aviation types have to jump through hoops every day to keep the funny aviation regulations off of our backs then just maybe the drone “pilots” need to feel some of the heat also and not get a free pass. For example maybe these drone operators need to have a third class medical, no convictions for drunk driving, no “funny” medication usage, a transponder, a 2 way radio, ADS-B, an ELT, an annual inspection, a sleep apnea test, a flight review every 2 years, a current sectional chart, a weather briefing before every flight, a 30 minute fuel reserve, knowledge of proper cloud clearance, proper clearance over people and/or populated areas, pass a written test, pass a flight proficiency test, have a license, have an “approved” aircraft using only approved fuels/oils/additives, pay for expensive STC’s if they want to make ANY modifications, wait months for somebody from the FAA FSDO office to come out and approve a field modification. drones must be maintained only by licensed mechanics, strict “do it yourself” rules etc. etc. etc. etc. and then we MIGHT talk about them entering our ever shrinking general airspace. Maybe if another segment of the aviation (i.e. “model airplanes”) community realizes what we have to go through then maybe we can get some help on our issues too. Keep these toys out of our way……….