American Bar Association News

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday Rear Adm. Melissa Bert has been invested as judge advocate general and chief counsel of the Coast Guard. Bert is the service’s first woman to hold that office.Bert was most recently the director of Governmental and Public Affairs for the Coast Guard, where she was responsible for external engagement with Congress, the media and other inter-governmental entities.As judge advocate general and chief counsel, Bert will lead a group of legal professionals who are responsible for the delivery of all legal services in support of the Coast Guard's missions…

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has elected Mario Cordero, executive director of California’s Port of Long Beach, to serve as the association’s next Chairman of the Board.Cordero will be installed as Chairman on the final day of AAPA’s 2020 Annual Convention, set for September 13-16, in Québec City, QC, Canada. He will assume the AAPA chairmanship from Gary G. Nelson, executive director of Washington State’s Port of Grays Harbor, who began his term on October 15…

Foss Maritime announced that Lam Q. Nguyen-Bull has joined the company as the Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer. Based in Seattle, Nguyen-Bull will lead Foss's Legal and Risk Management Group, where in addition to providing counsel on legal issues and business strategies and practices, she will head up the company's ethics and compliance programs and work to safeguard the values and reputation of Foss. Nguyen-Bull came to Foss from parent company Saltchuk, where she served as Associate General Counsel and Compliance Officer.

U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Charles Michel formally assumed the role of vice commandant of the Coast Guard during a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters Monday. As vice commandant, Michel will oversee the Coast Guard’s operations, strategic development, organizational governance and management of the service’s more than 58,000 employees and 30,000 volunteers. "I am humbled and honored to be given this important opportunity to further serve the American people and the men and women of the United States Coast Guard,” said Michel. Michel became the 30th vice commandant of the Coast Guard after serving as the service's deputy commandant for operations…

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) board of directors has elected Kellye Walker to serve as corporate vice president and general counsel and Charles R. “Chuck” Monroe Jr. to serve as corporate vice president, associate general counsel and secretary. These organizational changes are effective Jan. 12, 2015. As corporate vice president and general counsel, Walker will report to HII President and CEO Mike Petters and will have overall leadership responsibility for HII’s law department and outside counsel…

With oceans considered by many as one of the last frontiers, the American Bar Association's new book “Zoning the Oceans: The Next Big Step in Coastal Zone Management’’ is intended to help experts and government planners use zoning as a vehicle for ocean development and management. It is claimed to be the first book to focus on new and emerging state ocean zoning programs in the context of recent developments in offshore coastal zone regulation at the state and federal levels, say the publishers.

The US Coast Guard 2012 Annual Report to the American Bar Association mentions, amongst a wealth of information about the service's activities, that Coast Guard attorneys have facilitated the development of principles for member governments wishing to participate in IALA-NET, an AIS (Automatic Identification System). The information sharing network would use the United States’ Marine Security and Safety Information System (MSSIS), European (HELCOM) and China maintained servers…

With oceans considered by many as one of the last frontiers, a new American Bar Association book will help experts and government planners use zoning as a vehicle for ocean development and management. “Zoning the Oceans: The Next Big Step in Coastal Zone Management’’ is the first book to focus on new and emerging state ocean zoning programs in the context of recent developments in offshore coastal zone regulation at the state and federal levels. The timely and relevant book delves into a wide range of coastal zone management issues…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced  that Chad N. Boudreaux has been named to the newly created position of chief compliance officer. Chad will report to Bruce N. Hawthorne, corporate vice president, general counsel and secretary, and to the Audit Committee of the HII Board of Directors. "HII has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to the highest ethical standards and compliance across its entire operation," said Mike Petters, HII's president and CEO. "Chad's new role as chief compliance officer is a valuable enhancement of our existing compliance program…

Corporate Attorney Kritzman Joins Firm as Shareholder. Fowler White Burnett, P.A. said that Mr. Robert Kritzman has joined the firm as a Shareholder at the Fowler White Burnett downtown Miami office working in their general practice group. Kritzman has an extensive background in corporate transactions, including financings and mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, corporate investigations, government relations and a broad range of maritime matters. Prior to joining Fowler White Burnett, Mr. Kritzman was a partner at the firm of K&L Gates LLP.

Joins More than 30 International Maritime Industry Speakers. Clay Maitland, managing partner of International Registries, Inc., which administers the Marshall Islands Ship Registry, the third largest registry in the world, will be the keynote speaker at the SHIPPINGInsight 2012 Fleet Optimization Conference, Oct. 8-10 in Stamford, Conn. As keynoter, Maitland, a distinguished veteran in the shipping industry, will set the tone in addressing the challenges and solutions for improving ship efficiency and fleet operations – the central theme of the conference.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HII) announced that Chad N. Boudreaux has joined the company as corporate vice president for litigation, investigations and compliance. He will report to Bruce N. Hawthorne, corporate vice president, general counsel and secretary, and to George M. Simmerman Jr., corporate vice president and deputy general counsel. Boudreaux comes to HII from Baker Botts LLP, where he established the law firm's Global Security and Corporate Risk Counseling practice group. Before joining Baker Botts, Boudreaux held various high-ranking positions in the U.S. government.

On Monday, October 26th, Emery W. Harper passed away following complications from surgery, leaving his spouse/partner Louis (Luigi) Terruso and his daughter Caroline (Carrie). Harper practiced law for 45 years, representing the full spectrum of clients with major interests in the shipping industry. He founded the Maritime Finance Committee of the US Maritime Law Association, was Chair of the Admiralty Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the International Section of the American Bar Association.

Blank Rome LLP announced that Gregory F. Linsin has joined the Firm as a Partner in the White Collar, Internal & Government Investigations practice group. Mr. Linsin brings more than 25 years of experience as a federal prosecutor and has an extensive background in the supervision and prosecution of complex maritime and environmental criminal cases with the Environmental Crimes Section of the United States Department of Justice. Mr. Linsin will be based in Firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Prior to joining Blank Rome, Linsin served as Special Litigation Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section. In this capacity, Mr.

Horizon Offshore, Inc. announced the election of John T. Mills to its board of directors. John T. Mills is senior vice president and chief financial officer of Marathon Oil Corporation. Mills joined Marathon Oil Company in 1976 as a tax specialist. He became chief tax counsel in 1984. In 1986, he became director of taxes and energy for USX Corporation. He was appointed vice president of taxes for USX in 1987. In September 1998, Mr. Mills was appointed senior vice president of finance and administration at Marathon Oil Company. Prior to joining Marathon, Mr. Mills was employed by Coopers and Lybrand for three years. Mr. Mills earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Ohio University in 1969 and a law degree from Ohio State University in 1973.

According to the International Hall of Fame Committee, the recipient of the 1999 Humanitarian Award must possess qualities such as contributions to the well being of a broad spectrum of the world population and a demonstration of a rapid response to world humanitarian efforts or appeals in times of emergency. George F. Lowman, chairman and CEO of Farrell Lines more than adequately exemplifies these qualities since becoming chairman of the board with the company in 1978, and chief executive officer isnce 1979. Active on both the East and West Coasts of Africa, Farrell Lines operates major runs of relief supplies in the Black, Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas. It is because of Lowman's generosity that this program continues to run successfully in bringing aid in times of crisis.