Emily Huggins Jones

Emily Huggins Jones advises maritime companies on the full spectrum of marine legal issues. She also provides comprehensive maritime counsel to offshore wind developers and service companies, and vessel owning and operating companies in the renewable energy and telecommunication sectors.

Emily routinely provides counsel regarding compliance with the Jones Act and related U.S. cabotage laws as well as counseling on life cycle documentation for vessels operating in U.S. waters, including shipbuilding contracts, vessel financing, Coast Guard and Customs and Border Patrol agreements and vessel chartering contracts. She also regularly advises on shipping and logistics contracting and regulatory compliance.

Emily also provides counseling in connection with renewable energy project development, mergers and acquisitions, as well as financing transactions, and counsels clients on a full range of maritime and environmental compliance matters involving the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, RCRA, TSCA, EPCRA, Departments of Transportation, Energy and Interior regulations as well as state and local regulatory requirements.

Emily’s experience includes:

• Defending a maritime servicing company in a maritime arbitration and parallel litigation
• Representing subsea cable vessel companies with respect to renewable energy project cable-lay installation projects in U.S. waters
• Negotiating project documentation for the construction of a large marine renewable energy project
• Representing subsea cable vessel companies regarding Jones Act and related cabotage law compliance for telecommunications decommissioning projects
• Representing an offshore wind servicing company in the design, construction, certification and contracting of offshore wind vessels, including regulatory and corporate counsel
• Negotiating contracts of affreightment and supply agreements for the transportation of goods
• Negotiating BIMCO charterparties on behalf of U.S. government contractors in the marine industry
• Counseling clients regarding force majeure claims in shipping transaction related to COVID-19 and Acts of God
• Counseling non-U.S. clients regarding regulatory compliance with import regulations, including compliance with Coast Guard and FMC regulations for NVOCCs, freight forwarders and property brokers
• Defending shipping & logistics industry clients against Jones Act penalties for alleged violations of the Third Proviso of the Jones Act
• Representing a large insurance company in a transportation and shipping-related lawsuit under the Carmack Amendment
• Counseling maritime clients in the subsea cable market with respect to Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, U.S. EPA and state equivalent environmental agencies with respect to U.S. market entry, risk mitigation and ongoing operational compliance
• Negotiating port acquisition transactions, including the provision of counsel regarding environmental risk, state law redevelopment incentives and maritime regulatory considerations
• Providing environmental counsel to one of the nation’s largest renewable energy companies with respect to project finance and portfolio restructuring for repowering projects
• Representing an airport client with respect to developing PFAS regulations
• Providing environmental counsel for several large international transactions in the electronics industry
• Providing environmental counsel for domestic and international real estate developers and investors related to property acquisition and redevelopment projects across the country
• Providing multifaceted transactional and corporate support to a large family office with significant real estate and investment holdings across its portfolio
• Representing a midstream pipeline company through the trial of a breach of contract claim
• Representing an international manufacturing company against cost recovery claims for alleged historical disposal of hazardous wastes
• Representing chemical manufacturers in complex groundwater contamination litigation in several jurisdictions
• Representing a chemical manufacturer against breach of contract and indemnity claims arising out of a purchase agreement dispute
• Representing an international manufacturing company in CERCLA and state-equivalent litigation
• Representing a Fortune 100 ship-owner in an asbestos jury trial
• Representing multiple ship-owners at trial in defense against Jones Act and general maritime law claims
• Representing ship-owners in negotiations with state agencies related to environmental enforcement claims
• Representing ship-owners’ trade associations in state court proceedings related to Clean Water Act litigation and regulatory proceedings
• Counseling ship-owners trade association members regarding compliance with NPDES general permit requirements
• Representing a waste industry client in odor exposure mass tort litigation
• Representing manufacturing and distribution clients in California Proposition 65 litigation
• Representing a regional airport authority in regulatory negotiations with the FAA and various environmental agencies
• Representing an employee of a major financial institution in an investigation led by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission
• Counseling regarding wetlands regulatory requirements in connection with infrastructure enhancement and real estate development projects
• Counseling real estate development companies regarding underground storage tank liability in connection with real estate acquisitions and divestitures