About – Freehill Hogan & Mahar LLP

Freehill Hogan & Mahar was founded in 1952 and today has diversified beyond its traditional maritime law practice to provide legal services in the following areas: trucker and motor carrier liability, premises liability, mass tort, defense of occupational disease cases, maritime environmental criminal defense and white collar criminal defense, terminal liability, commercial litigation, commodities sales contracts, workers’ compensation, Defense Base Act, defense of asbestos and toxic tort cases and sanctions compliance. As Chambers USA 2011 stated: “Freehill Hogan & Mahar has a reputation as a first-class admiralty firm. It has expanded its practice in recent years beyond pure shipping work, while maintaining its depth and expertise on maritime issues.”

Throughout its growth the firm has been a model of consistency and stability, with 17 current partners who have an average of over 20 years each with the firm. The firm’s stability is reflected in a comment made by a client to Best Lawyers in America in 2017:

“In a drastically changing seascape of the New York maritime bar, Freehill Hogan & Mahar has stood as a lynchpin and remained a steady presence. That speaks volumes of their steadfastness and their clients’ trust and reliance on them.”

The firm is well-known for taking a commercial view of problems and seeking reasonable commercial solutions for our clients. The 2016 Best Lawyers/U.S. News reports the following client comment:

“Freehill Hogan & Mahar’s greatest strength is their understanding of their clients’needs; they provide cost-effective advice and always put the interests of their clients first when providing advice and evaluating the merits of a case.

If a negotiated solution is not possible, we litigate and do so successfully. Chambers USA 2010 quotes sources as saying: “The firm has all the resources necessary to handle big litigation. The senior partners provide the wisdom and the younger lawyers provide the momentum to move the practice forward.” We have a strong reputation for integrity. In 2006 ChambersUSA wrote of our firm: “Its leading position in the market is cemented by the ethics and integrity of is ‘intelligent, hard-working and dedicated players.’” And whether we are negotiating solutions or litigating, it is always our goal to provide clients with cost effective legal services. “Clients agree that the ‘top-drawer team’ is distinguished by its proactive and solution-oriented approach, and appreciate its excellent value for money.” (Chambers USA 2009) In 2014, commenting on a two year arbitration case, another client told Best Lawyers/U.S. News: “Advice was very relevant and cost-effective all the way to the award which won us 100% of the claim. We would go to FH&M again for any maritime dispute under U.S. law.”

Over the last 15 years we have handled a series of major casualties, with dollar values ranging from $25M to $100M+. We are known for our expertise in dealing with this type of high stakes, complex case and for the depth of our team. In our personal injury defense practice, we have an extremely experienced group of attorneys, with five partners on this team, who deal with the full range of maritime personal injuries, as well as Defense Base Act cases, mass tort cases, occupational disease cases and workers’ compensation matters. Over the years, with the increased use of sanctions to implement U.S. foreign policy, we have been in the forefront of advising clients, including major P&I Clubs and the International Group of P&I Clubs, on compliance with U.S. sanctions.

For twelve consecutive years the Chambers USA edition of Chambers & Partners has ranked us, and only one other firm, in the Top Tier of U.S. maritime law firms nationally. Chambers Global has ranked the firm in the top ten law firms worldwide with a global shipping practice. U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers published their rankings of law firms for the seventh year in 2016. In the Admiralty and Maritime category, our firm is again ranked in the top tier nationally and in NYC. For 2017, the firm had 16 attorneys listed as “Best Lawyers.” In 2016 eleven Freehill partners have been ranked as New York “Super Lawyers” and two associates have been recognized as “Rising Stars.”

We bring to our other growing practice areas the same skill sets, determination and commitment that have earned the firm its sterling reputation in the maritime law field.