Special Presenter RADM Melissa Bert
Rear Admiral Melissa Bert: RADM Melissa Bert serves as Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel for the United States Coast Guard. Sheassumed duties as the Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard in April 2020. She has the privilege to lead a dedicated group of legal professionals who are responsible for the delivery of all legal services in support of all of the Coast Guard’s missions, its units and its people.
Her preceding flag assignment was as Director of Governmental and Public Affairs, where she synchronized the service’s external engagement with Congress, the media, and strategic partners and stakeholders. Prior to that, she was Deputy Director of Operations for the U.S. Northern Command overseeing homeland defense and defense support for civil authorities for North America, as well as theater security cooperation with Mexico and The Bahamas.
Before promotion to flag-rank in 2016, she distinguished herself in service in both legal and operational capacities. As a lawyer, she was Chief of the Coast Guard’s Maritime and International Law Office, supporting U.S. engagement with the International Maritime Organization and providing legal advice on a variety of policies – including the Law of the Sea, drug and migrant interdiction, homeland security, search and rescue, pollution response, port and vessel safety/security, counter-terrorism, Arctic policy, and environmental protection. She was also Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the Seventh District in Miami, FL and a Military Judge. For her legal expertise she was awarded the Young Military Lawyer of the Year for the Coast Guard by the American Bar Association in 1997 and the Judge Advocates Association Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney Award in 2006.
Operationally, she was Chief of Staff for the Seventh Coast Guard District, responsible for oversight of Coast Guard operations in the Southeastern United States and Caribbean and was also privileged to Command Sector Juneau and direct mission execution in the unique environment of Southeastern Alaska. During the attacks of 9/11, she was the Operations Officer for Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach protecting one of the nation’s most valuable ports. She previously served aboard two cutters, including as Executive Officer of the Cutter Red Birch in Baltimore, Maryland.
Rear Admiral Bert is a graduate of the Coast Guard Academy and George Washington University Law School. She has been a national security fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and a military fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York. She has taught as an adjunct professor at George Washington University and University of Miami Law School.
Her honors include the United Way American Values Award, the Joint Superior Service Medal, two Legions of Merit, and three Meritorious Service Medals. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Proctor in Admiralty in the United States Maritime Law Association. She is also the founder of the Women’s Leadership Initiative supporting mentoring and professional development for Coast Guard women in uniform and civilians.
Continuing Legal Education
Matthew W.J. Johnston: Matthew is the 2022 Chair of the Pacific Admiralty Seminar. He is a Senior Claims Executive with the San Francisco Office of Thomas Miller, focusing on in bodily injury and illness claims. He also specializes in cargo claims and works with the Contract Review team at Thomas Miller. Prior to joining Thomas Miller in 2019, Matt practiced maritime law with several firms in the Bay Area. Matt is a graduate of the University of the San Francisco School of Law where he was Editor in Chief of the USF Maritime Law Journal. Also while in law school, Matt clerked for the United States Department of Justice Torts Branch (Admiralty) in San Francisco. Matt is a member of the ABA Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee, the Maritime Law Association and the Pacific Admiralty Seminar.
Thursday October 27th
US vs. London Markets: Appetite for Risk in 2022-2023
Jonathan Thames: Jonathan is the Marine Insurance Session Chair for the 2022 Pacific Admiralty Seminar. He a a Partner in the San Francisco office of Kennedys with 25 years’ experience advising business and insurance clients on complex maritime, property, regulatory, and transportation matters.  He has particular expertise in assisting London Market underwriters with coverage and recovery problems arising from goods in transit, and in guiding shipyards and customers through thorny marine construction issues.  He represents clients in all aspects of admiralty and maritime law, including marine cargo, hull and machinery, and P&I claims; catastrophic personal injury and death actions; and marine, inland marine, stock throughput, and specialty insurance coverage disputes. He also counsels insurance and business clients on complex regulatory, transportation, marine and property matters.  He is very commercially-minded, and sees his role not in terms of winning or losing, but instead as helping his clients solve their problems. Jonathan is Admitted to practice in California, Washington, Louisiana and Mississippi (inactive), is a Proctor member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, and serves on numerous industry associations, including as Secretary of the Association of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco; and Barrister member, Edward J. McFetridge Inn of Court.
Jonathan Eaton: Jonathan has been Executive Director – Global Head of Cargo & Stock Throughput for RKH Specialty since September 2017. He started his marine career in 1986 joining Lloyd’s to handle cargo claims and worked for RSA and Aviva in marine underwriting roles before moving to Dublin in 2002 as Marine Manager for Aon. Jonathan moved back to London in 2007 and joined AIG where he became the Global Head of Cargo responsible for business written via hubs in London, New York, Miami, Dubai, Singapore and Tokyo. He joined XL Catlin in 2014 as the CUO for Cargo and was responsible for the global cargo portfolio. Jonathan has managed some of the largest global cargo and logistics programs and has been an elected member of the Joint Cargo Committee (Lloyds) and Marine Technical Committee (IUA).
Eric Newman: Eric is the Senior Vice President of the ProTecht Risk Solutions group at Falvey Insurance Group where he manages the loss prevention, claims and recoveries functions. At Falvey, Eric has supervised ProTecht’s delivery of value-driven services for Falvey’s high technology and life science clients including proactive loss prevention services, strategic claims processing, and aggressive recovery measures. Eric is also directly responsible for managing the loss prevention services offered to Falvey clients which consists of development of risk mitigation strategies and consultative service in all facets of supply chain management and distribution, including development and implementation of packing, shipping, and storage procedures and protocols that are aligned with industry best practices. A graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a BA in Marine Transportation, Eric sailed as a USCG licensed merchant marine officer aboard ocean going commercial cargo vessels. After completing his sailing career, Eric worked as an independent marine cargo surveyor/consultant for 15 years performing a variety of marine insurance-related surveys and inspections involving all types of cargo shipped via ocean, air, road, and rail. During this time, Eric received extensive training in large property/HPR loss prevention inspections and compliance audits of 3PL facilities involved with storage and distribution of high value commodities. In 2003, Eric started Newman Marine, Inc., an independent marine risk management company that provided loss prevention and risk management consultation to insurance companies as well as pharmaceutical and high technology manufacturing companies. Since beginning his career with Falvey in March 2007, Eric has been an active member of the Parenteral Drug Association’s (PDA) Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Interest Group (PCCIG). As a member of the PCCIG, Eric was a contributing author for two published PDA technical reports on risk management for temperature-controlled distribution (T.R. 58) and active shipping system qualification guidelines (T.R. 64). Eric is also involved with several other industry organizations involved with development of industry best practices for packaging, shipping, and storing high value products. These organizations include the Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Coalition (PCSC), Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), Coalition of New England Companies for Trade and the Mariner’s Club of Massachusetts. Eric is also an active member of the board of advisors for the International Maritime Business program at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Eric has authored numerous articles in various industry newsletters and magazines and has presented at numerous global industry conferences on the subject of cold chain management, industry best practices and GDP regulatory compliance.
Gavin Spencer: Gavin is Managing Director / EVP – Head of Insurance for Parsyl, a leading Insurtech specializing in essential supply chains and perishable commodities. Since joining the firm in September 2021, Gavin has led all global insurance activities at Parsyl, including its MGU, Coverholder operations and Lloyds of London activities. In August 2022, Gavin was named Active Underwriter of Parsyl syndicate, 1796. Gavin started in the marine industry in 1999 and has held positions in underwriting, broking, claims and as a cargo surveyor. Gavin’s career has taken him across the globe, including the Far East, South East Asia, the Middle East, Sub Saharan Africa, Europe and the US. Gavin’s previous leadership positions include CEO of global marine TPA, W E Cox Claims Group and Head of North American Logistics for Marsh. Gavin is a regular contributor to national and international forums and associations. In 2022, Gavin was a key speaker at the IMUA, has provided interviews to Freightwaves and in 2022 was quoted in the New Yorker on the issues arising from containers lost at sea.
Captain Gregory M. Tylawsky: Captain Tylawsky is a global specialist maritime expert on incidents involving ships under pilotage. He served as a Senior Pilot Unlimited with the San Francisco Bar Pilots from 2010 to 2020 and as an apprentice Pilot from 2007-2010. Prior to that, he served as vessel Master with Maersk Line, Ltd., (1999-2007) and Sea-Land Service, Inc. (1995-1999) including aboard PANAMAX sized containerships. He also sailed as a deck officer aboard Maritime Overseas ships from 1984-1988. Captain Tylawsky holds an MBA from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and a BS from Texas A&M Maritime Academy. He was a 2010 Associate fellow at The Nautical Institute in London. From 2012-2015, he served on the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee for the US Department of Homeland Security. He has served in the United States Merchant Marine Naval Reserves and in 2003 received the United States Merchant Marine Expeditionary Award. He holds a Certificate in Marine Consultancy from the Lloyd’s of London Maritime Academy.
Navigating the New World of Russia Sanctions
Bradley Pace: Brad is the Session Chair for the Russian Sanctions Session of the 2022 Pacific Admiralty Seminar. He is Special Counsel in Kennedys’ San Francisco office. Working on cases concerning virtually all aspects of maritime law, his background in the maritime industry as a ship captain, officer, engineer, and pilot enables him to deeply understand the issues his clients face. Prior to joining Kennedys, Brad was an Assistant District Attorney for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. During law school, Brad served as a legal intern with the US Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s Office of the Chief Counsel, in Washington, DC. Brad holds a US Coast Guard Professional Mariner Master’s License, with multiple endorsements. He also holds a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airplane Pilot’s License, with Seaplane, Complex, and High Power ratings.
Cari N. Stinebower: Chair of the International Trade Compliance practice at Winston & Strawn, LLP, Cari counsels clients on compliance with U.S. economic sanctions, Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations, export controls, and anti-corruption/anti-bribery laws and regulations. She works with financial institutions and multi-national corporations to develop compliance programs, conduct AML and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) risk assessments, conduct internal investigations, respond to government investigations, and address potential conflicts of law arising from non-U.S. data privacy and “blocking” laws and regulations. Cari also works with industry groups to develop sanctions and AML best practices policies and procedures. Cari served as counsel for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s OFAC and as a Programs Officer for OFAC, where she advised on sanctions and anti-terrorism legislation, drafted United Nations Security Council Resolutions and related executive orders. Cari acted as agency counsel in Treasury’s defense of a number of challenges to OFAC’s authority, whether in litigation related to enforcement actions or in response to congressional investigations. Cari is a frequent writer and speaker on sanctions, AML and anti-corruption/anti-bribery related issues and has been quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, Reuters, Bloomberg and MoneyLaundering.com. Cari also serves on Law360’s 2022 International Trade Editorial Advisory Board.
Talia Townsend: Co-chair of the International Trade Compliance practice at Wiggin and Dana, LLP, Tahlia is an experienced, Chambers-recognized financial sanctions, export controls, and foreign investment attorney. Trusted by U.S. and international clients from global aerospace companies and international financial institutions to top tier universities and hi-tech start-ups, Tahlia assists with government-directed and internal investigations and disclosures, M&A and investment due diligence, CFIUS assessments and approvals, commodity classification and export license applications, and building and auditing compliance programs. Tahlia graduated from Yale Law School and clerked for two judges of the United States District Court. Before becoming a lawyer, Tahlia studied physics and chemistry, performed research in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University, taught at the Lauder Javne Jewish Community School in Budapest, Hungary, worked with an ecologist in the Serengeti, and studied French, German, and Hungarian.
Anna Cumming: Anna is a Claims Executive for the New York office of the leading mutual P&I insurer, the Standard Club. She has over 6 years of experience in the maritime industry. Anna obtained her law degree from the University of Southampton and a Masters of Law degree in Admiralty Law at Tulane University. Prior to joining the Standard Club in December 2021, Anna worked in the P&I and FD&D departments at the North of England P&I Club in Newcastle. Anna handles a variety of owners’ and charterers’ P&I and FD&D matters for members in North and South America, including cargo claims, bill of lading and charterparty disputes, contract reviews, arbitration, personal injury, and regulatory matters. She has been assisting colleagues and members around the world with queries in connection with Russia related sanctions. Anna qualified as a Solicitor of England & Wales and is admitted to practice law in New York.
Navigating Legal Ethics
Marisa Huber: Marisa Huber is a partner at Gibson Robb & Lindh LLP in the San Francisco Bay Area. She handles a variety of maritime matters including cases involving yachts, vessel repairs, maritime personal injury, maritime products liability, general average, and fuel disputes throughout California. Her practice also includes marine insurance coverage, liability defense, bad faith defense, and commercial maritime transactional matters. She combines strong advocacy and analytical skills with a demonstrated passion for the subject matter, and intense dedication to her cases and clients. San Francisco Magazine names Ms. Huber as a Maritime Super Lawyer and as one of the Top Women Attorneys in Northern California. She also serves as a Trustee for the Institute of Shipboard Education/Semester at Sea program.
R. Michael Underhill: Mike recently retired from his position as Attorney in Charge of the West Coast and Pacific Rim Office of the Torts Branch (formerly the Admiralty and Shipping Section) of the U.S. Department of Justice. That office handles the United States’ affirmative and defensive admiralty tort and maritime commercial litigation throughout the Pacific and the Districts of the Ninth Circuit, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. His primary practice was maritime environmental litigation on behalf of the federal government, including cases such as EXXON VALDEZ. In 1996, he litigated United States v. HYUNDAI NO. 12 in the District of Alaska and Ninth Circuit, the government’s first major civil trial under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which was enacted following the EXXON VALDEZ spill. In 2011, Mr. Underhill was appointed as the Federal Government’s Liaison Counsel by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in the multi-district litigation resulting from the 2010 DEEPWATER HORIZON/British Petroleum Gulf Oil Spill. Mr. Underhill served as lead litigation counsel for the United States in the Phase I liability trial in New Orleans that resulted in a finding of gross negligence and willful misconduct on the part of BP. The case subsequently resulted in the $16 billion-plus global settlement of federal and state government claims against BP. Prior to retirement, Mr. Underhill served as lead counsel for the United States in the matter involving the 2017 collision of USS FITZGERALD with a merchant vessel offshore Japan. He settled the U.S. Navy’s collision damage claims for approximately $26 million paid by the merchant vessel’s insurer following negotiations in Tokyo. He also was lead counsel for the United States concerning the 2017 collision of USS JOHN S MCCAIN in the Singapore Strait. Mr. Underhill led the trial team at the 2021 trial of the case in the Southern District of New York, after which the Court awarded approximately $45 million to the United States. Prior to law school, Mr. Underhill worked as a fisherman, logger, and merchant mariner in Alaska. He received his J.D., Cum Laude, from the University of San Francisco in 1982, and subsequently served approximately ten years as an adjunct professor of maritime and maritime environmental law at USF. Mr. Underhill served on the Board of Directors of the Maritime Law Association and remains a Proctor member of the MLA, as well as a member in good standing of the California Bar. He now lives in San Francisco and Kauai.
Friday October 28th
Supply Chain Disruptions: 2022 and Beyond
Matthew Mihaly: Matt is the chair of the Young Lawyers session for the 2022 Pacific Admiralty Seminar. Matt joined the San Francisco office of Cox Wootton Lerner Griffin & Hansen LLP in 2021. His practice focuses on maritime litigation matters. Prior to joining CWL, Matt practiced at a national law firm in San Francisco where he worked on maritime and non-maritime general liability matters, product liability cases, and commercial disputes, ranging in value and complexity from minor, property damage claims to high exposure class actions and multidistrict litigation matters involving wrongful death and catastrophic injuries. Matt received his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law – Newark. While at Rutgers, Matt interned for the Honorable Walter Koprowski, Jr. in the Chancery Division of the New Jersey Superior Court and the Honorable Ned M. Rosenberg in the Civil Division. He also clerked at a defense firm and represented clients of the Rutgers Urban Legal Clinic as a clinical law student. After law school, Matt clerked for Judge Rosenberg in the Family Division of the New Jersey Superior Court and then practiced immigration law before returning to civil litigation. In his spare time, Matt enjoys running, skiing, and volunteering with Back on My Feet.
Margaret Stando: Margaret joined Peacock Piper Tong + Voss LLP as an associate in 2021. Margaret concentrates her practice on the litigation, regulatory, and transactional needs of Peacock Piper’s clients in the maritime, maritime terminals, transportation, energy, construction, and other industries. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Margaret attended Tulane University Law School where she obtained her Certificate of Specialization in Admiralty and Maritime Law. While at Tulane, Margaret was a Student Attorney for the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic and a member of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal, which published her article Clause for Concern? The Flawed Expansion of the Himalaya Clause and the Rise of Circular Indemnity Clause in the United States, 44 Tul. Mar. L.J. 323. In 2021, Margaret obtained her LLM in International and Comparative Law from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Margaret is licensed to practice in Louisiana and California.
Elena Mihos: Elena is Associate Counsel for ZIM American Integrated Shipping Services Co., LLC. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law where she obtained an Environmental and Oceans Law Certificate and received the Maine Law Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Award in Maritime and Oceans & Coastal Law. During her time at Maine Law, she was a member of the Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition Team her 2L year and was a Student Competition Director her 3L year. After graduating in 2020, she attended Tulane University Law School where she obtained an LL.M. in Admiralty & Maritime Law in 2021 and was awarded the Edward A. Dodd, Jr. Award for outstanding achievement in the graduate study of Admiralty Law. While at Tulane, Elena wrote a Limitation of Liability Statistical Analysis, which analyzed and reported all Limitation of Liability cases between 1997-2019 as an update to the Maritime Law Association of the United States’ Historical Documents; the work has been added to the MLA’s Document Library. Elena is licensed to practice in Florida, Maine, Texas, and Virginia.
Benjamin Nashed: Benjamin is an Attorney Advisor at the Federal Maritime Commission. Benjamin joined the Commission in 2015 as an Attorney-Mediator in the office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services before transitioning to the Office of the General Counsel in 2017. Benjamin was involved in the Commission’s Fact-Finding No. 28 Investigation which resulted in the Commission’s Interpretative Rule on Demurrage and Detention. Benjamin also played a key role in the Commission’s recently concluded Fact-Finding No. 29 Investigation. Prior to joining the Commission Benjamin clerked for the Honorable Thomas F. Brogan for the Superior Court of New Jersey. Benjamin received a B.A. from Rutgers University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Recent Developments in Maritime Personal Injury
Marker E. Lovell Jr.: Marker is the Personal Injury Session Chair for the 2022 Pacific Admiralty Seminar. Marker’s litigation practice spans the West Coast and the Pacific Rim. He is admitted to practice in both California and Hawaii and actively practices in both the state and federal courts of those jurisdictions. Given his unique maritime experience, he is frequently called upon to practice pro hac vice in other jurisdictions as well. Mr. Lovell focuses on the defense of maritime and landside personal injury and death actions, sports and recreation litigation and product liability defense, with an emphasis on the defense of maritime employers in Jones Act and LHWCA 905(b) actions, vessel owners, recreational marine providers, marinas, and marine and landside product manufacturers. Mr. Lovell also has substantial experience in the areas of insurance fraud, insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, and subrogation. An active litigator, Mr. Lovell has significant experience at all levels of state and federal litigation including mediation, arbitration, trial, and appeal. He has also had considerable success with dispositive motions, prevailing on summary judgment in numerous jurisdictions. Mr. Lovell has been annually honored as one of the Northern California’s Super Lawyers by Super Lawyer Magazine. This honor is awarded to those lawyers who are among the top five percent of Northern California attorneys based on input by their peers and review by a Blue Ribbon Panel. Marker is admitted to practice in California and Hawaii. He is a member of the Bar Association of San Francisco, the American Bar Association, the American Boat & Yacht Council, the Association of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco, the Maritime Law Association of the United States, and the San Francisco Marine Claims Association. He has spoken before numerous organizations, including the San Francisco Marine Claims Association, the Association of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco, the Board of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco, the Pacific Admiralty Seminar, and the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle on a number of topics, including Primary Assumption of Risk in Maritime Cases, Recoverable Damages in Personal Injury and Death Cases, Choice of Law and Pre-Trial Discovery Practices. He also provides in-house training, lectures, and seminars to institutional clients. Marker is a co-author of “The Primary Assumption of the Risk Doctrine is Consistent with Maritime Law,” University of San Francisco Maritime Law Journal, 28 U.S.F. Mar. L.J. 93 (2015-16). He is a graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law and has a B.A. in Political Science from University of California, Davis.
Jennifer Porter: Jennifer is a former shareholder with Keesel, Young & Logan and joined Thomas Miller Insurance Services in March 2018. Jennifer’s practice has focused on maritime and transportation litigation, including handling cargo disputes, personal injury matters, maritime arrests and attachment proceedings. She also has extensive experience conducting casualty investigations as well as initiating emergency response to serious shipping casualties and pollution incidents throughout the United States, including handling any corresponding Port State control investigations and criminal investigations. She advises clients on compliance with environmental and safety regulations that are enforced against the maritime and transportation industries. Jennifer is a Board Member of the Maritime Law Association (“MLA”) and is presently Vice Chair of the MLA’s Marine Pollution and Maritime Crimes Committees and Vice Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee. She has also been a member of Women’s International Shipping and Trade Association (“Wista”) since 2009. Jennifer graduated with honors from Stanford University where she was a four-year Varsity sailing skipper and Team Captain. She received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco in 2008 with an International and Comparative Law Certificate and was on the USF Maritime Law Journal. Jennifer is a practicing attorney and admitted before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal and all state and federal courts in California.
Markus Oberg: Markus is a Seattle-based maritime lawyer with a broad practice including maritime tort and contract litigation, environmental law, and commercial real estate leases. Markus services a range of clients, including ship owners, operators, and charterers, marine contractors, insurers and international protection and indemnity associations, banking institutions, and real estate interests. His litigation practice covers federal, state, and tribal courts, including appellate practice before the Washington State Supreme Court, and trial experience in federal and state courts. His maritime practice spans occupational disease (asbestos, mesothelioma, etc.), seaman’s injuries under the Jones Act, passenger injuries, cargo loss, contamination, and subrogation, and liens and vessel arrest actions; his practice also includes general commercial litigation, contract disputes, insurance defense and coverage advice, commercial transactions, real estate leases, and environmental claims under CERCLA, MTCA, and OPA 90, including property clean-up and remediation, and spill response. Markus received his J.D., cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law in 2003, after a career in marine insurance. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of California, Irvine (1994). He is fluent in Swedish and speaks German. Markus is admitted to practice in Washington (2004), Alaska (2011), and Oregon (2011). He is also admitted to practice before the United States District Courts in Alaska, Oregon, and the Western District of Washington, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a member of Phi Delta Phi, the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle (MIAS), and serves as general counsel for the Washington State Maritime Cooperative.
Dan Weltin: Dan Weltin has been representing plaintiffs in personal injury, products liability and collective action litigation for more than a decade. He has handled catastrophic personal injury cases, complex multi-plaintiff wage and hour lawsuits and multiple plaintiff toxic tort lawsuits. His work in civil justice in complex cases has been recognized by The Recorder, Law 360, Verdict Search and other national publications. Dan attended the University of California at Berkeley and obtained his law degree from Santa Clara University. He speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese. Dan is a member of the California, Hawaii and Texas bars and was named a Superlawyer Rising Star from 2012 to 2016. He was also named a Top 40 Under 40 and Top 100 by the National Trial Lawyers.
Edward M. Bull III: Ed has been practicing in maritime law since 1989. He is a University of California at Berkeley grad and obtained his law degree from the University of San Francisco, where he was Editor in Chief of the USF Maritime Law Journal. Ed has taught maritime law as an adjunct Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco SOL. He is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, Vice Chair and Chair to subcommittees of the San Francisco Barristers Club, former Seminar Chair and Session Chair for the Pacific Admiralty Seminar. He has been recognized as an outstanding attorney by Best Lawyers since 2013.