UPS Inc. is taking its package delivery empire to new heights—quite literally. Earlier this year, the Atlanta-based company launched the first ongoing, revenue-producing drone flights in the United States with its partner Matternet and now operates multiple daily deliveries of medical samples by drone on the WakeMed hospital campus in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In addition, UPS announced in April its participation in a partnership to expand life-saving drone service into Ghana, providing blood and vaccines to hard-to-reach clinics throughout the African country.

UPS general counsel Norman Brothers Jr. said in an email that, with growth in the health care and life sciences industries a strategic priority for UPS, the WakeMed project will open doors for the company to consider expansion of similar services to other hospital networks.

Brothers and Corporate Counsel exchanged emails about UPS's drone program, the role of the legal department in its operation and challenges associated with the emerging technology. The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Corporate Counsel: Does UPS have any plans to extend its drone program to commercial delivery?

Norm Brothers: UPS is exploring the use of drones, and we have found them particularly effective in delivering humanitarian aid and life-saving goods including blood and vaccines to hard-to-reach locations that lack conventional roads or dependable transportation infrastructure. We also have used drones to assess damage after natural disasters, and believe there may be uses for them on our facility properties, and inside of our facilities for inventory inspection and security.

We believe drones could someday provide other opportunities for customer benefits that enable us to grow our business.

CC: What is the legal department's role in that process?

NB: UPS operates one of the largest airlines in the world with almost 550 owned and leased aircraft, so our legal department has deep experience in aviation matters. The legal department is meaningfully engaged in this initiative as a valued partner every step of the way. We review contracts with equipment vendors and service providers. We work through intellectual property and risk management issues. We are involved in labor considerations and compliance with health and safety regulations. Unique to this specific engagement are the aviation issues that arise from the use of unmanned aircraft. While the Federal Aviation Administration has come a very long way with integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace, there are still a number of unresolved legal issues. We are actively engaged in helping develop solutions to those issues that advance the industry without compromising safety.

CC: How many in-house lawyers do you have working on it?

NB: The demands of the particular legal or regulatory issue influence the number of attorneys who work on a particular matter. For example, at the launch of this initiative, there are many legal issues that must be addressed across various disciplines, including intellectual property, regulatory, aviation, insurance and procurement. During this phase, there are many lawyers who have provided input. As the project progresses, we will adjust our staffing as needed.

CC: Do you expect that, once developed, the drone program will change the makeup of the legal department?

NB: The FAA has jurisdiction over drone operations. UPS already has a pool of talented lawyers with a strong foundation in aviation matters, so we are well positioned to meet the needs of our drone program. Our legal team will remain well versed in the evolving legal and regulatory landscape in this area.

CC: What are the biggest challenges in this space?

NB: The biggest challenge comes from the fact that technology and the law are evolving simultaneously. The ultimate goal for the industry is to have unmanned vehicles that can operate autonomously beyond the visual line of sight of a human operator. In order to do that safely, there are complex technological questions that must be answered. How will the drone detect and avoid other aircraft and obstacles? How will air traffic control be managed for unmanned vehicles? What system will be employed to allow other users of the airspace and law enforcement to remotely identify unmanned vehicles?

In order to answer these questions, a great deal of testing must be done. The testing cannot be done, however, unless there are regulations in place that are sufficiently flexible to do the necessary cutting-edge work. Regulators cannot establish this legal framework unless there is enough data to show how it can be done safely.

This requires UPS to work very closely with the FAA at all phases of the project. This methodical approach has led to a slower development than some might like, but we believe the agency has struck the right balance of moving the technology forward while preserving the safety of the public.

CC: What legal issues do you anticipate arising from the program? For example, will there be significant labor and employment issues with unionized drivers if the program substantially reduces their ranks?

NB: There are still too many unresolved legal and technical issues to provide a specific answer to this question, particularly about the impact it will have, if any, on the workforce. Our expectation and intent is not for drones to replace our uniformed service providers, the UPS drivers who offer a level of service and human interaction that our customers tell us they value, respect and trust. Consider, for example, the program we are running at WakeMed in North Carolina. The service we are providing with drones was not an on-the-ground service provided by UPS prior to the drone solution. Instead, WakeMed contracts with a local ground courier service for same-day delivery—that is not a business UPS is involved in, and our drone solution has no impact on our ground operation and drivers in the area.

At this point, what is clear is that more development will have to be done at both the state and federal levels and in partnership with the private sector to further develop the regulatory environment, and to begin engaging other stakeholders, including the general public.

CC: Who is your outside counsel on the drone program?

NB: UPS has broad relationships with the aviation teams at LeClairRyan and Jenner & Block. Both teams have extensive experience in all aspects of aviation and are at the forefront of the law related to unmanned aircraft.