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Law School News

25 Mar 2024

Maritime Partners Hires Two In Executive Leadership Roles

(Photo: Maritime Partners)

Maritime Partners,a Louisiana-based provider of maritime financing solutions primarily focused on Jones Act vessels, announced the addition of Stephen J. Bordes and Greg Chase to its executive leadership team.Bordes joins Maritime Partners as its chief financial officer, and Chase as as the firm’s chief legal officer.Bordes brings to the company more than 20 years of experience in the fields of finance and fund management. Prior to joining Maritime Partners, he served as the CFO for New York-based American Industrial Partners…

04 Dec 2023

Alicia Barton Named CEO of Vineyard Offshore

Alicia Barton (File photo courtesy FirstLight Power)

U.S.-based offshore wind developer Vineyard Offshore on Monday announced it has named Alicia Barton as the company’s new CEO, starting in January.Barton will take over for Lars T. Pedersen, who has led the company since it was founded in 2022 and before that led the team developing Vineyard Wind, the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States, now under construction.“I had the pleasure of working with Alicia during the very early days of the Vineyard Wind project and know she brings an outstanding mix of skills and talent to Vineyard Offshore,” Pedersen said.

07 Jul 2023

Dumont Takes the Helm at Cal Maritime

Michael J. Dumont (Photo: California State University (CSU) Maritime Academy)

Michael J. Dumont started his tenure as interim president of California State University (CSU) Maritime Academy.Aside from service as a reserve military officer, Dumont was a senior executive in several agencies of the Federal government. Earlier in his career he was a litigation attorney with a private law firm representing aviation and maritime businesses, municipal governments, and institutions of higher education. He later served with the U.S. Department of Justice where he handled aviation and admiralty litigation before leading major white-collar criminal investigations.

03 Mar 2022

New Deputy Chief of the Contracting Office at NSWC Dahlgren Division

Michael Brian Donaldson (Photo: NSWC Dahlgren Division)

Leadership has added a new face in the contracting department at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD). Michael Brian Donaldson assumed the role of deputy chief of the contracting office (DCCO) in December, with management responsibility for a team of more than 110 contracting specialists, contracting officers, cost analysts, policy analysts and other contracting professionals.The contracting department at NSWCDD executes several thousand contract actions in a typical year, with a collective value of approximately $950 million.

20 Sep 2021

Fitzgerald Honored as he Retires from the US Coast Guard Reserve

Freehill Hogan & Mahar LLP Partner Daniel Fitzgerald retired from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve in a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C. Photo courtesy Freehill Hogan & Mahar LLP.

Freehill Hogan & Mahar LLP Partner Daniel Fitzgerald retired from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve in a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C., this summer.Rear Admiral Melissa Bert presided over the ceremony, which was attended by family, friends and Coast Guard colleagues who worked with Fitzgerald over the past 28 years. Fitzgerald retired from his last duty assignment in Washington D.C. where he served as the Senior Reserve Judge Advocate (RJAG) for the entire Coast Guard Reserve.

18 Mar 2021

Fact Check: J.P. Morgan Did Not Sink the Titanic

© Archivist / Adobe Stock

A widely-shared meme has taken several facts about the Titanic out of context to make unsubstantiated claims that imply the ship’s sinking was a deliberate act. This is not true—experts widely agree the sinking of the Titanic was an accident. The meme was posted to Facebook on March 1 and has been shared more than 600 times (here). It consists of two images: one of the ship and a second of American financier John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan. These sit alongside a wall of text that…

09 Nov 2020

Biden Expected to Roll Back Trump's Offshore Energy Rollbacks

© Lukasz Z / Adobe Stock

Joe Biden could erase much of President Donald Trump’s four-year legacy of energy and climate deregulation with the stroke of his pen, according to regulatory experts, but replacing it with something new and durable may prove trickier.Trump’s rollbacks are on shaky ground because most were done not through Congressional lawmaking but via presidential executive orders that can be easily torn up by a new administration. That means signature measures ranging from the withdrawal of…

10 Jun 2020

Doyle Hired to Lead the Port of Baltimore

© Alexey Lesik / Adobe Stock

William P. Doyle, a former U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner, has been hired to lead the Port of Baltimore as the new executive director of the Maryland Port Administration, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced.Currently CEO and Executive Director of the Dredging Contractors of America, Doyle will take the helm at the Port of Baltimore effective July 22, succeeding Jim White, who announced he would step down at the end of 2019. Doyle was appointed by Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Greg Slater…

01 May 2020

Rear Adm. Bert Makes History with New USCG Role

Rear Adm. Melissa Bert (Photo: USCG)

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…

21 Nov 2019

Interview: Boriana Farrar, Ship Owners Claims Bureau

Boriana Farrar is a familiar face in maritime circles, the Vice President and Counsel and a Senior Claims Executive and Business Development Director for the Americas at the Ship Owners Claims Bureau, Inc. managers of the American P&I Club.

Boriana Farrar is a familiar face in maritime circles, the Vice President and Counsel and a Senior Claims Executive and Business Development Director for the Americas at the Ship Owners Claims Bureau, Inc. managers of the American P&I Club. We met with her in her NYC office to discuss her path from her native Bulgaria to a top maritime professional position.When Boriana Farrar moved from her native Bulgaria to the United States in 2001, she did so to be close to family, her mother and her sister who had already established a life in the U.S., some 5,000 miles from her homeland.

02 Aug 2018

Harvey Gulf Announces New BoD

Harvey Gulf International Marine’s parent, HGIM Corp., has announced the appointment of a new Board of Directors to serve following the company’s emergence from Chapter 11 proceedings.The seven member Board includes two current members remaining on the Board and five new members, each with expertise in individual areas particularly suited to support the company’s operation and development and collectively, creating a leadership platform that will enable Harvey Gulf to adjust and thrive in an ever-changing market. Shane Guidry. Mr. Guidry remains the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer for HGIM Corp. Mr. Guidry is the third generation in his family to lead Harvey Gulf. Mr.

16 Nov 2017

Catching a Jones Act Seaman’s 'Golden Parachute'

© wanfahmy / Adobe Stock

A challenging offshore environment produces a different but equally difficult development. Will you be ready when it comes to your fleet? Unfortunately, our industry continues to suffer due to the depressed oil prices that started in 2014. When the price of oil initially dropped, the industry’s outlook remained positive, and I remember hearing the mantra: “Stay lean for 2015.” Everyone thought that oil prices would rebound in short order and that we were only weathering a short downturn.

12 Oct 2017

Can Employers Ask About Prescription Drug Use?

© Feng Yu / Adobe Stock

On the waterfront, it all depends. It is well established that workplace safety and productivity can be compromised, not just by the use of illicit substances and alcohol, but also by the use of prescription drugs. Federal law, however, imposes limits on employer inquiries in this area both with respect to the affected job classifications and the scope of the inquiry. Generally, an employer may not ask all employees what prescription medications they are taking because such an inquiry is not job-related and consistent with business necessity, according to Enforcement Guidance from the U.S.

19 Sep 2017

Robert Clyne Gets Outstanding Professional Achievement Award

Robert (Bob) Clyne, ABS Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary , was recognized with the Outstanding Professional Achievement Award for his distinguished accomplishments as a graduate who best exemplifies the finest tradition of Kings Point – Acta Non Verba – and lending honor and prestige to the United States Merchant Marine Academy. “Bob is most deserving of this recognition,” said ABS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher J. Wiernicki. Clyne began his career at ABS working in various positions from 1982 to 1988. Upon earning his law degree, he joined the firm of Hill Rivkins LLP where he practiced maritime law for 24 years and served as Co-Managing Partner from 2006 to 2012.

21 Aug 2017

NAMEPA to Honor Founding Chairman Maitland

The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) announced that Clay Maitland will receive the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award at an awards dinner in New York on October 26. Maitland, who is a Managing Partner of International Registries, Inc (Marshall Islands Ship Registry), is being recognized for his many industry accomplishments including being a NAMEPA co-founder. “Clay is one of the finest examples in our industry of a successful businessman who expends nearly as much energy on philanthropy,” said NAMEPA Chairman Joe Hughes. Maitland has worked in the shipping industry since graduation from law school in 1968. He was employed by International Registries, Inc.

31 Jul 2017

For Payroll Purposes, is Your Seaman Really a Seaman?

© Carabay / Adobe Stock

For operational purposes, it is critical to know what type of employees you have on your vessel. Failure to do so could be expensive. As vessel operators, we pay close attention the provisions of the Jones Act and how they affect the operation, crewing and administration of our marine-based operations. A determination that your vessel-based crews are seamen under maritime law creates a different employment relationship when compared to employees designated as longshoremen or land-based employees.

07 Mar 2017

Plan for Safety: Leadership is Key

Larry DeMarcay

Effective leadership and a safety management system are the keys to success. Failure to lead has consequences. Over the last 20 years we have seen a dramatic shift in the way that our industry operates. When I started practicing law, many companies looked at safety planning as a balancing act where you weighed the costs associated with safety against the costs associated with working through employee claims. Unfortunately, our employees often ended up on the losing side of the balancing test. The industry goal seemed to be completing the task at hand, regardless of the risk.

16 Dec 2016

Clear Contractual Language: What Are You Agreeing To?

Larry DeMarcay

The tightening of the marine markets over the last two years have pushed some companies to do everything that they can to avoid obligations that they feel are burdensome or take advantage of obligations that provide them with a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, many of these agreements were crafted during happier times, by employees who were motivated by simply closing the deal and without any real regard for the legal technicalities of the agreement. However, as the market has changed, these contractual details can have a long term lasting impact upon your company.

22 Feb 2016

Tubman Confirmed as Marad Chief Counsel

David Tubman, the new Chief Counsel in U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration

Former FMC counsel David Tubman has served in FMC Commissioner Doyle's office as counsel since 2013 at U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. After being cleared by the White House and U.S. Department of Transportation late last week, starting today (February 22, 2016), Mr. Tubman will be serving as Chief Counsel in U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD). William Doyle, U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner, said in a statement, "David and I have been working together since the beginning of 2002. I know that David will succeed in his new role.

12 Apr 2016

US Navy Honors Carl Levin with Naming of Ship

Today, during a ceremony in Detroit, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that the next Arleigh Burke class destroyer, DDG 120, will be named Carl M. Levin in honor of the longest serving senator in Michigan history. During his 36 years in the Senate, Levin was a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and its chair for more than nine years. He also served as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, as a member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He led the Senate in adoption of the Defense Authorization Acts from 2007 through January 2015 when he retired.

24 Apr 2016

Seafarers International House Honors Maritime Leaders

Members of the maritime community gathered last evening at the New York Athletic Club to honor three of its leaders: H. Marshall Ainley (President, Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association), Ian T. Blackley (President & CEO, Overseas Ship Management, Inc.) and Raymond J. Burke Jr. (Partner, Burke & Parsons). These individuals were given the 2016 “Outstanding Friend of Seafarers” Award by Seafarers International House, a Lutheran, non-profit agency serving merchant seafarers in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, at the organization’s 16th Annual “Setting the Course” Awards Banquet. * Marshall Ainley was elected president of MEBA in January 2014 and is a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Maritime Academy in Kings Point, NY.

31 May 2016

DNV GL’s Ellen Crivella Named 2016 Rising Star by Women of Wind Energy

DNV GL’s Ellen Crivella was honored with the 2016 Rising Star Award at the Women of Wind Energy (WoWE) luncheon at the 2016 AWEA Windpower Conference and Exhibition. Each year, the Rising Star Award recognizes a woman relatively new to wind energy who has already made significant professional contributions and shown unusual talent, dedication and innovation in their wind industry work. As DNV GL’s global head of practice for environmental and permitting services, Ellen has been involved in the siting, permitting and financing of over 10,000 MW of renewable energy projects. Ellen has recruited key talent and quickly established DNV GL as an expert advisor in avian and other wildlife issues for wind power.

23 Jun 2016

Kuriyama Joins Matson Board of Directors

Stanley Kuriyama (Photo: Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.)

The Board of Directors of Matson, Inc. has appointed Stanley Kuriyama as a director of the company, effective June 23, 2016.   Kuriyama is the Executive Chairman of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. He first joined Alexander & Baldwin in 1992, and from January 2010 until his retirement in December 2015, he served as Alexander & Baldwin's president and chief executive officer. Prior to joining Alexander & Baldwin, Kuriyama was a partner in the law firm of Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright, specializing in real estate and real estate financing. He is a 1977 graduate of Harvard Law School.