(Main Office)

DeOrchis & Partners, LLP is a diverse firm that specializes in all facets of Maritime, Insurance, Transportation and Trade Law. Our reputation has been earned and continues to grow through our extensive involvement in Federal and State Court Litigation and Arbitration proceedings involving cargo damage, hull and pier damage, personal injury to crew, longshoremen and passengers, general average and salvage, towage, charter parties, stowaways, insurance coverage disputes and opinions, U.S. Custom Disputes, leasing, land transportation claims, air commerce, NVOCC, forwarder and customs house broker operations, and mergers and corporate activities. The firm also has extensive experience with the Federal Maritime Commission, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Custom Service and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The firm represents a broad base of clients, including many major steamship lines, vessel operators, P&I Clubs, domestic and foreign insurers, railroads and trucking companies. We also service several carriers by drafting many of their critical business documents including bills of lading stevedoring, and terminal agreements, charter party and vessel sale contracts.

The firm's main office, located in downtown Manhattan, is presently staffed by twenty attorneys, two of whom hold Master of Law degrees and six hold U.S. Coast Guard ocean-going licenses.

DeOrchis & Partners also has satellite offices in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts and New Jersey, which are available to service and support our clients. It is DeOrchis & Partners' policy to be available to our clients on a twenty four hour a day basis. Our clients are provided with the home and cellular telephone numbers of the partners for after-hour consultation. The New York office is manned from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays. As our clientele is international in character, we have a network of correspondent counsel in all of the major ports in the world.

Our lawyers are admitted to practice before the courts of the States of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, Washington and the District of Columbia, as well as the Federal Courts for the First , Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits and the United States Supreme Court.

DeOrchis & Partners is committed to the ideal that quality legal services can and should be provided at fair and reasonable rates. Our goal is to provide every client with the highest quality legal services available. DeOrchis & Partners will accommodate all reasonable billing requests, including a regular retainer for repeat business, task oriented billing, or special billing rates.

DeOrchis & Partners is managed to ensure the best possible use of resource in response to the needs and expectations of the clients. Worldwide connections established over the past half-century enable DeOrchis & Partners to provide comprehensive service to our clients wherever it is needed.

Statement of Practice

Administrative Law, Admiralty, Admiralty and Maritime, Air Freight, Appellate Practice, Arbitration, Bankruptcy, Bonds, Business Immigration, Cargo Claims and Loss, Charter Claims and Loss, Charter Party, Coast Guard Matters, Collision and Hull, Commercial Litigation, Corporations, Corporate and Commercial Law, Cruise Line Defense, Customs and Immigration, Customs Brokers, Environmental, Export Control Matters, Federal Litigation, Fisheries, Freight Collection, Freight Forwarders, General Average, Government Regulation, Hazardous Materials, I.C.C. Matters, Insurance Law, Insurance Coverage & Defense, International Trade, Leasing, Maritime Security, Motor Carriers, NVOCC and NAOCC, Ocean Carriers, Personal Injury, Personal Injury Defense, Pollution, Product Liability, Railroads, Recreational Boating, Salvage, Stevedore and Terminal Liability, Surface and Air Transportation, Tug and Barge Claims, Toxic Torts and Toxic Tort Litigation.

Address

61 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10006, (New York Co.)

Phone

Phone: 212-344-4700
Fax: 212-422-5299

Website

http://www.marinelex.com

(For complete biographical data on all personnel, see Professional Biographies at De Orchis, Corsa & Hillenbrand, LLP, Miami, Florida)

PARTNERS

Vincent M. DeOrchis (Partner) admitted to bar, 1975, New York, U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; 1985, U.S. Supreme Court; 1989, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit; 1992, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas; 1997, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Education: Fordham University (B.A., 1971); Fordham University Law School (J.D., 1974). Co-Author: Negotiation, An Attorney's Manual. Briefing Judge, Judge John R. Brown National Moot Court Competition. Titulary Member, Committee Maritime International. Member: Maritime Law Association (Member, Board of Directors; Chairman, Committee on Carriage of Goods). Practice Areas: Cargo Charter Party; Limitation of Liability and Hull Claims.Email: Vincent M. DeOrchis

John K. Fulweiler, Jr. (Partner) born New York, 1971; admitted to bar, 1998, Arkansas and New York; 2000, Florida; U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; U.S. District Court, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida; U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; U.S. District Court, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York; U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island. Education: University of Rhode Island (B.A., Marine Affairs, 1994); University of Arkansas at Little Rock (J.D., 1997). John K. Fulweiler maintains an active practice in numerous jurisdictions. He is licensed in Arkansas, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. In addition, he is a member of the bars of multiple federal courts including the District of Connecticut, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, District of New Jersey, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York, and the District of Rhode Island. In addition to an extensive legal background, John K. Fulweiler, Esq. possesses practical experience having worked commercially in the maritime industry. A licensed United States Coast Guard captain, while attending the University of Rhode Island's Marine Affairs Department, John worked at local shipyards and captained various commercial vessels. An avid boater, upon graduation, John attended law school and was thereafter promptly hired by a boutique maritime law firm located in mid-town Manhattan. Ultimately, John took a position with the well-known admiralty law firm, DeOrchis & Partners, LLP. He is now a partner and maintains his principal desk in New York while actively litigating cases throughout the East and Gulf Coasts including in Rhode Island and Florida. Member: American Salvage Association; Connecticut Maritime Law Association; International Commerce Club; Maritime Law Association; Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute. Reported Cases: McCaddin v. Southeastern Marine, Inc., 567 F. Supp. 2d 373 (E.D.N.Y. 2008); Fed. Ins. Co. v. Man Engines & Components, Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1391 (M.D.Fla. 2007); Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am. v. DHL Danzas Air & Ocean, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33366 (S.D.N.Y. 2006); Runnin' Easy 3, Inc. v. Offshore Marine Towing, Inc., 314 F. Supp. 2d 1246 (S.D.Fla. 2004). Practice Areas: Maritime Proposal Injury; Cargo Damage Claims; Salvage Issues; Vessel Products Liability; Warranty Actions; Boat Manufacturing Liability; Cruise Ship Injuries; Admiralty and Maritime Law(90%); Charter Parties; Charter Party Arbitration; Diving and Offshore Injuries; International Maritime Law; Jones Act; Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act; Marine Cargo; Marine Insurance; Marine Liability; Marine Law; Marine Salvage Rights; Marine Subrogation; Maritime Accidents; Maritime Arbitration; Maritime Contracts; Maritime Liens; Maritime Negligence; Maritime Personal Injury; Maritime Products Liability; Maritime Property Damage; Maritime Regulation; Recreational Boating Law; Seamen's Claims; Ship Documentation; Ship Foreclosure; Ship Registration; Shipbuilding and Repair; Shipping; Shipping Regulation; Shipyard Litigation; Aviation and Aerospace(10%).Email: John K. Fulweiler, Jr.

William E. Lakis (Partner) admitted to bar, 1993, New Jersey and U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; 1994, New York and U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Education: United States Merchant Marine Academy (B.S., with honors, 1985); New York Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1993). Member, New York Law Review, 1992-1993. Licensed, Third Assistant Engineer, U.S. Coast Guard. Practice Areas: Charter Party Disputes; Cargo Damage; Major Casualties; Allision and Collision Damage; Vessel Construction Disputes; Personal Injury Claims.