Gary E. English

Gary leverages his many years of in-house experience and Naval service and seamanship to astutely advise his clients on the rapidly evolving international trade landscape, compliance, sanctions, and a multitude of maritime matters. His career is marked by successes in renewable energy projects, personal injury, wrongful death, hull and machinery, cargo, environmental, regulatory compliance, aerospace, Law of the Sea, and piracy. Further, Gary has robust and trusted experience advising on all sectors of intermodal transportation and matters concerning international vessel sales, registration, recycling, and vessels held in trust.

Gary provides strategic direction and subject matter expertise to general counsel, senior members of leadership, and boards of directors. Trained to always operate with business objectives at the forefront, clients also turn to Gary for risk management strategies, investigations, contracts, and even workers compensation claims.

International Trade & Regulatory Compliance Experience

• Government contracting: FAR/DFAR compliance, RFPs, RFQs, solicitations, contract administration, bid debriefs/protests
• False Claims Act investigations and defense
• International commercial contracts and purchase orders
• Regulatory research and compliance analysis
• Intellectual property matters
• Drafting legal memoranda and correspondence

Maritime & Admiralty Law Experience

• Personal injury and wrongful death
• Hull and machinery claims
• Cargo disputes
• Maritime contracts
• Piracy matters
• Law of the Sea issues
• Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act claims

Offshore Energy & Environmental Experience

• Offshore wind projects
• Renewable energy development
• Environmental compliance
• Marine infrastructure projects
• CERCLA and Clean Water Act issues
• Oil Pollution Act and Marine Pollution (MARPOL) matters

Vessel Transactions & Asset Management Experience

• Placement of insurance and related risk management strategies
• Vessel sales, registration, and recycling
• Vessels held in trust
• Charter parties

 Transportation & Intermodal Logistics Experience

• Vessel operations
• Rail transportation
• Trucking and intermodal coordination
• Cargo movement risk mitigation

Representative Experience

• Ruiz v Maersk Line, Limited, 02-cv-2012-900748-MAY (Cir. Ct. of Mobile, AL), (settled with nine crewmembers of the Maersk Alabama who were involved in the piracy action and hostage taking of Captain Philips).
• Joyce v. Maersk Line, Limited, 876 F.3d 502 (3^rd Cir. 2017). (the 3^rd Circuit sitting en banc overturned 27 years of 3^rd Circuit precedence)
• Hoblick v United States, 526 F.Supp.3d 130 (DSC 2021) (Suits in Admiralty Act/Public Vessel Act dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction)
• Seville v Maersk Line, Ltd., 53 F.4^th 890 (5^th Cir. 2022) (dismissed on lack of personal jurisdiction)
• Reed v. Maersk Line, Ltd., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS (SD Tx. Jan. 5, 2023) (vessel did not create an unsafe wake in a wrongful death matter within TX state territorial waters).

Notable

• The Maritime Law Association, Proctor
• The Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, Acoustical Society of America, Associate Member
• The Maritime Associations Of South Carolina, Board of Directors; Government Affairs Committee & The Navigation & Operation Committee, Member
• Charleston Maritime Law Institute, Board of Advisors