Our lawyers have a long legacy of helping our transportation clients through the complex legal challenges involved in moving passengers and freight around the world. As advisors to some of the world’s largest rail, logistics, and maritime companies, we know how to collaborate with transportation businesses to find the best legal strategy for any problem.
Admiralty and Maritime Law
We have deep experience assisting clients in maritime matters. We represent shipowners, vessel operators and managers, marine service companies and suppliers, cargo interests, charterers, shipyards, commercial and investment banks, alternative lenders, and private equity funds. From blue- to brown-water operations, our clients operate in all major sectors of the industry, including onshore terminals, platforms, rigs, tankers, dry bulk, container, offshore, and inland rivers and lakes. And we have honed a particular niche for representing bunker fuel suppliers and traders.
We assist our maritime clients with a wide range of issues, including preparation and guidance related to: charterparties, bills of lading, contracts of affreightment, commercial loans, company formation and governance, private debt and equity placements, lease financing for vessels, mergers and acquisitions, vessel construction contracts, vessel mortgage loan financing, vessel purchase and sale agreements, U.S. Coast Guard regulatory matters, vessel operating and management agreements, and vessel project financing transactions.
We also routinely handle maritime disputes and litigation involving collisions, allisions, groundings, oil spills, cargo damage, demurrage, charter-party disputes, insurance coverage, salvage, general average, personal-injury and Jones Act claims, offshore platform injuries, loss of or damage to drilling rigs, protection and indemnity claims, freight, demurrage, tug and tow matters, subrogation matters, vessel arrests and attachments, and all types of commercial disputes.
Automotive and Rail Expertise
Our team also has extensive experience representing the automotive industry. Our attorneys take pride in not only knowing the legal aspects of each case, but also understanding our clients’ products, business, and industry. In serving our motor-vehicle and essential-component-manufacturing clients, our attorneys have successfully defended multidistrict litigation claims, product-liability claims, consumer-warranty actions, and complaints submitted to administrative tribunals.
We also handle litigation for the rail industry. From pretrial proceedings through trial and appeals, we handle complex employment disputes ranging from claims under the discrimination statutes to FELA and FRSA.
We understand that providing effective representation often means that litigation avoidance is just as important as an effective litigation strategy. Whether through informal dispute resolution or ADR, we strive to find cost-effective and swift solutions to our clients’ problems.