Transporation/Maritime Attorney

MATTHEW C. KOCH

**** ******* *****, ******, ******** 60561

Phone: 312-***-****

Email: ********@*****.***

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

Marwedel, Minichello & Reeb, P.C., Chicago, Illinois

Associate 2005 -

• Senior Associate with extensive experience in maritime law and transportation related litigation, including:

o Defense of carriers and transportation intermediaries against claims for cargo loss and economic damages under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, Carmack Amendment and Montreal and Warsaw Conventions

o Coverage analysis and litigation involving Hull, P & I, Marine Open Cargo, Cargo Legal Liability, and Errors & Omissions Policies

o Disputes arising out of charter parties, bills of lading, and contracts of affreightment

o Analysis of indemnity obligations contained in intermodal transportation agreements and rail terminal service contracts

o Defense of vessel owners against environmental claims under OPA 90 and CERCLA

o Defense of FELA, Jones Act and LHWCA personal injury claims in the Circuit Court of Cook County Law Division and Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

o Vessel Arrests, Maritime Liens and Collections

o Ship Collisions and Accidents

• Non-maritime commercial litigation and insurance defense, including insurance producer, premises and product liability

• Litigation Management, including coordination and supervision of external counsel on behalf of national building management company

• Perform post-accident shipboard investigations and interviews

• Extensive experience drafting motions, appellate briefs, coverage opinions and reservation of rights

• Thorough legal research and analysis skills

• Conduct depositions of fact and expert witnesses

• Jury trial experience involving Jones Act/LHWCA and commercial claims

Broida & Tullis, Ltd., Naperville, Illinois

Associate 2004-2005

• Small firm practicing general civil litigation and family law

Federal District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, East St. Louis, Illinois

Judicial Extern for the Honorable David R. Herndon, 2003

Saint Louis University School of Law, St. Louis Missouri

Faculty Research Fellow for Assistant Dean Joel K. Goldstein, 2002-2004

Serpico & Novelle, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois

Law Clerk for Plaintiff’s personal injury and criminal defense firm, 2002-2004

LICENSURE

• Admitted and licensed to practice in the State of Illinois and the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

EDUCATION

Saint Louis University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri

J.D., May 2004

Class Rank: Top 25%

Honors: Academic Excellence Award in Evidence, School of Law Scholarship

Activities: SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY LAW JOURNAL, Herbert A. Eastman Public Law Fellow

Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

B.A., History, magna cum laude, January 2001

Honors: Department of History Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, Golden Key Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, Newberry Library Scholar

Activities: Loyola University Rugby Football Club, President and Captain, Midwest Select Side

Loyola University Rome Center of Liberal Arts, Rome, Italy

Studied and traveled abroad, 1999

PUBLICATIONS

• Applying the Rotterdam Rules: A Comparison of Maritime Case Law under COGSA and the Rotterdam Rules, Contributing Author, Maritime Law Association White Paper (2009)

• The Liability of Dual Capacity Defendants to Maritime Workers for Personal Injury, Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin, Volume 4, No. 1, First Quarter 2006

• A Trap for the Unwary: Two-Year Statute of Limitations for Actions Against Insurance Brokers, IDC Quarterly, Volume 18, No. 3, Third Quarter 2008

• IDC MONOGRAPH: Defending the Insurance Producer: Duties, Proximate Cause Defenses and Avoiding Punitive Damages, IDC Quarterly, Volume 18, No. 4, Fourth Quarter 2008.

NOTABLE CASES

• Kevin Ballard v. ACBL, 07 L 8014 (Circuit Court of Cook County, 2010)(granting summary judgment in favor of barge owner and terminal operator under the LHWCA and general maritime law for injuries sustained by a repair worker when two adjacently moored barges collided and crushed his foot)

• Riduco, SA v. A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, 2009 WL 4680197, 2010 AMC 1 (N.D. Ill. 2009)(holding that the Carmack Amendment did not apply to the inland rail segment of an international through shipment of cargo from the United States to Columbia, and granting summary judgment to ocean carrier based on a one-year time bar contained in the ocean carrier’s through bill of lading)

• Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. v. Plano Molding Co., 2008 WL 1883466 (N.D. Ill 2008)(holding that an ocean carrier has a cause of action for negligence and breach of contract against a consignee as a “merchant” under the its bill of lading for damage sustained in a train derailment that is caused by improper packing and loading of a container)

INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS & BAR ASSOCIATIONS

• Propeller Club of Chicago – Vice President

• Chicago Ocean Marine Association

• Maritime Law Association

• Transportation Lawyers Association

• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel

o Young Lawyers Division, Newsletter

CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS

• Chicago Griffins Rugby Football Club, Club President

• USA Rugby Super League, Club Representative

• Preserves of Water Fall Glen Homeowner’s Association – Board President

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