The Annual Meeting & Conference for the ABA Forum on Air & Space Law was held in Chicago on September 27-28, 2018. As we have now come to expect the program was well thought out and the panels were thoughtful and well-planned.
As 2018 was the 40th anniversary of airline deregulation in the U.S., there was much emphasis on its historical importance to the industry as well as musing as to deregulation with the current U.S. administration. In addition to deregulation, panels included discussions about airline labour relations, airline competition and quality in the digital age, consumer protection and drone regulation. In contrast to past years, there was a deeper focus on space law this year and there was novel discussion about the militarization of space following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a Space Force.
The conference saw a number of CBA members participate, including three members of the Air and Space Law Section executive. The Section is becoming woven into the ABA fabric as we now have a permanent seat representing the CBA at the ABA’s annual executive meeting and our members are now sitting on Forum committees. We continue to work with our counterparts to facilitate cooperation and to share knowledge all in support of bringing CBA members value and a broader breadth of knowledge and resources.
Brian Poston is a Partner at MacKenzie Fujisawa LLP in Vancouver, and honourary Member-at-Large and ABA Liaison with the CBA Air & Space Law Section