Prof. Gregory S. McNeal

Gregory S. McNeal, JD/PhD, is a tenured Professor of Law and Public Policy at Pepperdine University. He co-founded AirMap, a multinational corporation whose platform provides airspace information and services to drone operators, drone manufacturers, software developers and aviation stakeholders throughout the world, opening airspaces previously inaccessible to unmanned aircraft operations. Dr. McNeal is an expert on topics related to emerging technologies including smart cities, IOT, autonomous vehicles and drones and holds an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate. As an IAPP Certified Information Privacy Manager, he is also an expert on topics related to privacy and cybersecurity.

Dr. McNeal has on multiple occasions testified before Congress and state legislatures about the legal and policy issues associated with emerging technology and has aided state legislators, cities, municipalities, and executive branch officials in drafting legislation and ordinances related to technological advances. He served on the Federal Aviation Administration’s Micro Unmanned Aircraft Systems Aviation Rulemaking Committee, the Federal Aviation Administration’s UAS Registration Task Force, Aviation Rulemaking Committee, and the Remote Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee.

He is a nationally recognized commentator for Forbes, and a frequent keynote speaker at industry events and academic conferences related to technology, law, and public policy. He previously served as Chair of the Consumer Technology Association’s Industry Standards Working Group on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (R6 WG 23) and as a voting member of the ASTM technical committee creating scientific standards to govern unmanned aircraft and their operation. He has advised venture capital firms and other investors, drone start-ups, sensor manufacturers, law enforcement, consulting firms, insurance companies, and Fortune 500 companies about the legal and regulatory issues and benefits associated with emerging technologies.