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Doug Griffith
combines an aviation background with a broad practice
history to deliver efficient, knowledgeable legal
services to a wide
range of aviation and commercial spaceflight
clientele.
Education
Legal Experience
Aviation
Experience
Education
Juris
Doctor, 1996
Loyola
Law School
(Dean’s
List, St. Thomas More Law Honor Society)
Bachelor
of Science, Aerospace Engineering, 1984
University
of Texas at Austin
Legal
Experience
Before
starting his own firm catering to aviation and spaceflight
companies, Doug spent more than four years at the international law
firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
LLP. As part of the
firm’s aviation practice group, Doug engaged in a broad-based
commercial
litigation practice emphasizing sophisticated contract and
regulatory disputes encompassing real property transactions,
operating agreements, labor and employment matters, construction
projects, trade secrets and airport noise/access issues.
Prior
to Paul Hastings, Doug spent four years at Kern & Wooley
LLP, an aviation firm specializing in the representation of
airlines, maintenance facilities, aircraft and component
manufacturers, and other members of the industry in accident
litigation. While at
Kern & Wooley, Doug litigated many aviation accidents, conducted an internal investigation
for major helicopter manufacturer, and participated in numerous
accident investigations and wreckage inspections.
Doug
represented an insurer in a declaratory relief action following the
destruction of a $350,000.00 twin-engine aircraft that crashed
while landing.
Following a three-day court trial, his client received an
adjudication that it bore no liability on either hull or liability
coverage, and that it was entitled to full reimbursement of the
$285,000.00 in personal injury settlements that had been paid under
a reservation of rights.
Doug later assisted as second-chair in a technically complex,
six-week jury trial in the U.S. District Court, District of Arizona,
defending the overhauler of an aircraft component in the wake of a
three-fatality corporate aircraft crash. The jury returned a defense
verdict after less than one day of
deliberations.
Doug
assisted in the defense of a component manufacturer in lengthy
multidistrict litigation stemming from a major
airline disaster in Colorado, and has worked on
numerous product liability cases in defense of a leading helicopter
manufacturer. He has
performed regulatory analyses for airlines and trade groups in
matters relating to airport access, and has represented local
government entities in binding arbitration proceedings arising from
accidents at airports.
As
an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School, Doug teaches an
aviation law course covering the major common law and statutory
schemes affecting the aviation industry. He has also taught
graduate and undergraduate level courses in rotorcraft operations,
aviation insurance & risk management, and aviation law at
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Doug
is a member of the State Bar of California, and sits on the
executive committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association
(litigation section).
Aviation
Experience
Doug
studied aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at
Austin, receiving his
Bachelors of Science degree in
1984. Upon
graduation, Doug joined the United States Marine
Corps and
began training to become a Naval Aviator.
After completing training in the T-34C Turbomentor and
TH-57 JetRanger, Doug earned his wings and reported
to
Camp
Pendleton, California to fly
AH-1W SuperCobra attack
helicopters.
For five years, Doug
served with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron
(HMLA) 369, participating in
deployments to Okinawa, Korea
and the Philippines
before going to Southwest Asia
for Operations Desert Shield
and Desert Storm in
1990-91. There, Doug flew
numerous combat missions in support of the Marines’ advance into
Kuwait
City, and
earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, several Air Medals, and the
Navy Commendation Medal.
Doug’s squadron was awarded the title Marine Helicopter
Squadron of the Year for 1991 as a result of its actions during the
Gulf War.
In addition to his
tactical flying duties, Doug was a post-maintenance check
pilot, quality assurance officer, and assistant aircraft maintenance
officer for a fleet of 24 AH-1W and UH-1N helicopters. He also attended
the Naval
Post Graduate School's
Aviation Safety Officers course in Monterey, California, receiving extensive
training in aviation risk management and accident
investigation.
Doug left the active
duty Marine Corps in 1992 to begin his legal education and career,
but continued to fly AH-1Ws as a reservist until 2003. During his time in the
reserves, Doug was the investigator-in-charge of two major aircraft
accidents, and developed a multimedia lecture series on aviation
fratricide. He also
worked part-time for Rockwell International Corporation during its
design of an upgraded cockpit and weapons control system for the
AH-1W.
By the end of
his military flying career, Doug had reached the rank
of Lieutenant Colonel, had amassed more than 2,500 mishap-free
flight hours, and had obtained numerous instructor
designations. He is now
the Commanding Officer of a Los Angeles-based Marine Corps Reserve
Mobilization Training Unit.
Doug holds an FAA
pilot license, valid for rotorcraft at the commercial level and
airplanes at the private level. He serves on the Board of
Directors of Angel Flight West, a charitable network of volunteer
pilots who provide their aircraft and services free of charge
to financially needy persons needing transportation to
far-away medical facilities. Doug is a frequent
lecturer under the Federal Aviation Administration's aviation safety
program. As a passionate advocate
of the personal spaceflight industry, he has spoken on the
topic of liability and risk management for spaceflight companies,
and is a member of the Space Frontier Foundation and the
National Space Society.
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