As the prior chair of the firm’s Aviation group, Cliff Maine advised on aviation-related transactions, emergency preparation and response, insurance and risk analysis, litigation and regulatory supervision. A pilot himself, Cliff’s lifetime passion for aviation was manifested in everything he did. As a result, he spoke the language of the pilots, mechanics, airlines, entrepreneurs and the business professionals in this specialized industry.
Cliff served as general counsel to numerous aviation organizations. His aviation clients included some of the largest corporate flight departments in the world.
Cliff negotiated and structured numerous aviation transactions, including domestic and foreign-based aircraft purchase and sale transactions, bonus depreciation, timeshare agreements, interchange agreements, joint and fractional ownership agreements, personal and executive use policies, FAA registrations, Capetown International Registry, and aircraft leasing transactions. Cliff also provided legal counsel on tax-related aviation issues, including federal excise tax planning, state sales and use tax planning, depreciation planning, insurance/risk management and emergency response plans.
In addition to his transactional practice, Cliff regularly represented aviation clients faced with serious lawsuits. He also advised on aviation insurance coverage, warranties and ongoing service and regulatory requirements. As aviation law is a high-profile, focused discipline that demands meticulous attention to detail and thorough risk analysis, Cliff’s long experience as both a lawyer and industry insider meant that he could ably guide his client’s through even the most turbulent scenarios.
In addition to being a lawyer, Cliff practiced as a licensed certified public accountant in Michigan and Minnesota, formerly working with a large nationwide CPA firm. Clients appreciated Cliff’s background in accounting and in the business, tax and regulatory side of aviation deals, which allowed him to understand their business quickly and provide answers to even the most complex questions in a timely manner.
He was also a frequent speaker for programs conducted by the National Business Aviation Association, Lawyer Pilots Bar Association, and other professional aviation organizations.
In high school, Cliff was an Eagle Scout, took his first solo flight on his 16th birthday, and has been a licensed pilot since the age of 17. He currently is an instrument-rated private pilot and holds a seaplane rating flying a Lake Amphibian.
Experience
- Barnes & Thornburg attorneys handled claims on behalf of the owner of an aircraft involved in a crash in which the pilot and four passengers were killed. All four passenger wrongful death cases were resolved within 12 weeks of the accident – thus sparing the families further trauma. The team then conducted an independent investigation into the cause of the accident, including full-scale reconstruction. The attorneys also appealed the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) fault determination through the U.S. Supreme Court and lobbied both administrative agencies and Congress for improved safety regulations.
- Barnes & Thornburg aviation attorneys handled wrongful death and workers’ compensation claims on behalf of a private educational institution’s flight school related to the deaths of two individuals in a plane crash. Cases involving the two decedents were resolved within 12 weeks of the accident.
Credentials
Education
- Michigan State University, B.A., 1976
- Thomas M. Cooley Law School, J.D., 1979
Bar Admissions
- Michigan