Partner, Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Eric L. Zalud is Co-Chair of Benesch’s Transportation & Logistics Practice Group and a Vice Chair of the Litigation Group. Eric is a Past President of the Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA).
Under Eric’s leadership, Benesch was named Law Firm of the Year for 2023, 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016 and 2014 in the area of Transportation Law by Best Lawyers®/U.S. News & World Report “Best Law Firms”. Only one law firm per practice area in the U.S. receives this recognition each year, making this award a particularly significant achievement. For the tenth consecutive year (2014-2023), Benesch also received a national first-tier ranking in Transportation Law also by U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms.”
Eric has litigated or arbitrated matters in 31 states, before state and federal trial and appellate courts in various jurisdictions, and before the Surface Transportation Board, the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, the United States Olympic Committee, the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Maritime Commission. Eric serves on the TLA’s committees on freight claims, motor carrier transportation, litigation, logistics and e-commerce.
Eric is a member of the Ohio Foreign Commerce Association; the Association of Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy; The Traffic Club of Cleveland; The Trucking Law Subcommittee of the American Bar Association; The Transportation Consumer Protection Council; the Conference of Freight Counsel; the Transportation Loss Prevention & Security Council; The Transportation Intermediaries Association; The National Tank Truck Carriers; The Association of Transportation Law Professionals; the International Warehouse Logistics Association; the Intermodal Association of North America; the Council on Litigation Management; and a regular attendee at the Air Transport Association freight claims seminar. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute, Trucking Law Subcommittee; the Air Forwarders Association; the Customs Brokers Roundtable; the Specialty Carriers & Rigging Association and the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce.
Eric has experience in Warsaw Convention litigation matters, Carmack Amendment litigation, COGSA litigation, PUCO dealings, NHTSA matters and DOT and Surface Transportation Board matters. He also has general experience in air and surface freight disputes, freight intermediary issues and litigation, private fleet formation, truck sale and purchase issues, freight undercharge and over length disputes, admiralty litigation, freight loss and damage litigation, motor carrier casualty and personal injury work, regulatory and registration issues, driver leasing issues and general regulatory compliance matters.
Eric is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and has authored numerous articles on freight intermediary liability, carrier liability, broker defaults, shipper liability, freight loss and damage, improper loading and contractual liability. He also has experience in preparing and litigating transportation contracts. In the course of his transportation-related legal work over the years, Eric has cultivated a diverse coterie of transportation industry experts across the country. These experts provide him with regular formal and informal consultation. This ongoing consult gives him valuable industry perspectives on the matters in which he is involved. It also serves as a helpful complement to his legal experience in these matters.
