Liskow Expands Maritime Practice, Adds Fisheries Capabilities and Team in New England
Liskow has announced the expansion of the firm and its maritime practice with the addition of three attorneys: Samuel P. Blatchley, Patrick J. O'Connor, and Michael J. Pluhowski. The addition brings an established fisheries litigation and maritime regulatory practice to Liskow and adds a new office in New Bedford, Mass., the nation’s highest-grossing commercial fishing port for 23 consecutive years, according to NOAA Fisheries.
“Liskow has long had a strong presence in the maritime industry, and our expansion into New England and the addition of fisheries capabilities are natural extensions of that strength,” said Ray Waid, leader of the firm’s Maritime Industry Group. “Sam, Patrick, and Michael add real depth to our team and make us better able to serve maritime clients across the country.”
The New Bedford office gives Liskow a base in New England and, together with the firm’s New York office, extends its maritime and casualty response coverage along the Northeast coast. The addition also strengthens the firm’s practice in the New York area, where two of the three new attorneys are licensed. O’Connor and Pluhowski both have Merchant Mariner Credentials, experience that reinforces the firm’s practical approach to maritime matters.
“I’ve known members of Liskow’s maritime team for more than 20 years and have watched the group grow,” said Blatchley. “These are lawyers I’ve long respected. The fishermen, vessel owners, insurers, and maritime businesses we represent need a team that can respond quickly wherever they operate. Liskow’s deeper bench gives us what we need to serve them well, whether the work is in Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, or anywhere else in the world.”
Maritime casualty response is central to Liskow’s Maritime Practice Group, one of the largest in the country. The group’s casualty lawyers are on call 24 hours a day, work alongside the emergency response teams of national and international clients, and have handled claims arising from major incidents, including the DEEPWATER HORIZON, the GOLDEN RAY capsizing, and the SEACOR POWER sinking. Most recently, the firm served as lead maritime counsel for the State of Maryland in its claim arising from the M/V DALI’s allision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The claim resolved in the largest single maritime property damage settlement in U.S. history. The group also handles maritime transactions ranging from operational contracts to vessel and fleet acquisitions. Several of its attorneys worked in the maritime industry before becoming lawyers, and that experience shapes how they respond when an incident occurs.
“Liskow has always grown by following our clients’ needs, and this expansion is another example of that,” said Managing Shareholder Mark Latham. “We are in a period of strategic growth, and the maritime industry is a key focus of that effort.”
Michael Golemi, leader of the Maritime Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Strategic Planning Committee, echoed that point. “We have never grown simply for the sake of getting bigger,” said Golemi. “Our clients and our lawyers value the advantages of a midsize firm, and our goal is to preserve those strengths while we continue to add the depth, breadth, and capabilities clients need.”