MAINBRACE: July 2019
To read the full text of the articles in the July 2019 edition of Mainbrace, please download the PDF
ARTICLES
Note from the Chair
by William R. Bennett III
The central theme of Dan Brown’s best-selling book Origin involves answering the long-debated questions on evolution: Where do we come from? Who are we? And, where are we going? When you think about it, those three simple questions, when answered by any individual, group, or organization, will, in all likelihood, include an assessment of their own evolution. Blank Rome Maritime’s evolution, in and of itself, is quite extraordinary. Read More »
Vessel Charters and the Stipulated Loss Value Clauses in U.S. Chapter 11 Reorganization
by Michael B. Schaedle and Jose F. Bibiloni
In complex long-term charters for vessels or finance leases in respect of vessels under the U.S. Uniform Commercial Code and its Article 2A (governing commercial matters relating to finance leases) and under other similar law, a charterer’s or lessor’s damages under a charter or lease—both generally upon a payment default or in the event of a casualty—are often liquidated in stipulated loss value provisions. Read More »
Keeping up with the Jones Act
by Dana S. Merkel
In the last several weeks, the Jones Act has drawn headlines over how it has shaped the U.S. and worldwide shipping industry. After almost 100 years as a part of federal law, there’s much misunderstanding as to what the law actually does. Read More »
Congress at Work on Maritime Programs
by Joan M. Bondareff and Jonathan K. Waldron
While much attention is being paid to the Mueller report and the internal Democratic fight regarding impeachment procedures for President Donald Trump, the 116th Congress and its respective committees are trying to do their regular work in the meantime—including passing both authorization bills and appropriation bills for fiscal year 2020. Here are some key legislative developments relevant to the marine industry. Read More »
Arbitrating Maritime Disputes
by Thomas H. Belknap, Jr. and Douglas J. Shoemaker
When parties negotiate and draft maritime contracts, they inevitably consider whether, and if so, how, to define the process for dispute resolution. While arbitration is practically universal in “blue-water” charterparties, it is also common in other maritime agreements, such as vessel sale, construction and repair, supplies, commodity sale, towing, stevedoring, and terminal agreements, among many others. Read More »
Update on UNCITRAL Insolvency Working Group
by Rick Antonoff and Evan J. Zucker
The Insolvency Working Group of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law has been busy this past year, working on three new model laws and developing work on at least two possible future projects. The Insolvency Working Group is responsible for drafting the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in 1997, which has since been adopted in 46 countries and is under consideration in several others. Read More »
Gulf Coast Update: Applying Doiron for Assessing Maritime Contracts Outside the Oilfield Services Arena
by David G. Meyer
Whether a particular contract is “maritime” is a legal question that can often arise in disputes subject to potential adjudication in the U.S. court system. There can be several reasons for this. One concerns determining whether a civil action can be heard in federal court versus state court. Read More »
NEWS
Chambers USA 2019 Honors Blank Rome Maritime Attorneys and Practices
Blank Rome’s maritime practice and attorneys were highly ranked by Chambers USA 2019 in the areas of Shipping Litigation, Finance, and Regulatory. Read More »
Blank Rome Maritime Highly Ranked in The Legal 500 United States 2019
Blank Rome’s maritime practice and attorneys were highly ranked and recommended in The Legal 500 United States 2019. Read More »
Blank Rome Expands to Chicago with Addition of Four-Partner Group
We are pleased to announce that Blank Rome expanded its national platform to Chicago, with the addition of a four-partner group. Read More »
Blank Rome Relocates New York Office
We are pleased to announce that Blank Rome has successfully completed the relocation of our New York office from the Chrysler Building to our new home at the recently redesigned, iconic 1271 Avenue of the Americas, formerly known as the Time & Life Building, located in Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. Read More »
2018 Pro Bono Report
Welcome to Blank Rome’s 2018 Pro Bono Report, which highlights various pro bono cases, clinics, and projects that our attorneys worked on throughout the year to provide equal access to justice in our communities. Read More »
Blank Rome Maritime Safe Passage Blog
We invite our readers to dive into our archive of Mainbrace newsletters and maritime development advisories, as well as keep abeam with all of our current and upcoming analyses on trending maritime topics and legislation, in our Safe Passage blog. Read More »
© 2019 Blank Rome LLP. All rights reserved. Please contact Blank Rome for permission to reprint. Notice: The purpose of this update is to identify select developments that may be of interest to readers. The information contained herein is abridged and summarized from various sources, the accuracy and completeness of which cannot be assured. This update should not be construed as legal advice or opinion, and is not a substitute for the advice of counsel.