ATLANTA (May 3, 2022) – Smith Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that Partner Roger Juan Maldonado has been invited to serve as a member of the new “Fareness” Blue-Ribbon Panel which has been created by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to develop fresh approaches to reducing fare evasion across the entire MTA system of subways, buses, commuter rails, bridges, and tunnels. Farebox and toll revenue account for 50% of the MTA’s operating budget, and in recent years, fare evasion has nearly tripled on the subway from about 3% to more than 12%. Members of the “Fareness” panel, which include distinguished leaders from academia, the bar, the business community, and the nonprofit/social justice community, among others, will focus on innovative approaches to encourage fare payment through education, equity, and enforcement. The panel, announced by MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber during a recent breakfast hosted by the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), will also look at how technological, design, and personnel solutions can help limit fare evasion.
A Partner in SGR’s New York Litigation Practice, Roger Maldonado has a nearly 40-year legal career as a trial lawyer and commercial litigator. He has represented, counseled and advised businesspeople, in-house counsel, governmental entities and others in the resolution of complex matters utilizing his experience in litigations, trials, appeals, arbitrations, mediations and negotiated settlements to arrive at the best possible result. Mr. Maldonado is a supporter of the legal system in New York City and an advocate of protecting the interests of the vulnerable and preserving the basic rights of all. From May 2018 until May 2020, Mr. Maldonado served as the 68th president of the New York City Bar Association (City Bar), notably as its first Hispanic president.
SGR has long served municipal and public transit authorities. In 2021, Firm Partner Justice Leah Ward Sears began serving a full term as Outside General Counsel to the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). A retired Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice, Justice Sears is now a member of SGR’s Litigation Practice and serves on the Firm’s executive committee.
About the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is North America’s largest transportation network, serving a population of 15.3 million people across a 5,000-square-mile travel area surrounding New York City through Long Island, southeastern New York State, and Connecticut. The MTA network comprises the nation’s largest bus fleet and more subway and commuter rail cars than all other U.S. transit systems combined. The MTA’s operating agencies are MTA New York City Transit, MTA Bus, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels. For more information, visit https://new.mta.info.
About Smith Gambrell Russell
SGR is a full service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s 270 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, real estate, construction, employment law, and employee benefits and executive compensation. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Jacksonville, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.