David Dickman represents clients on issues involving environmental, marine safety, port security and safety, and hazardous materials transportation laws and regulations, as well as maritime law enforcement and other maritime-related issues. He has experience in dealing with international, criminal, civil, and administrative legal aspects of maritime issues.

Mr. Dickman’s 24 years of experience in the U.S. Coast Guard provides unique insight for marine industry clients. He has practical maritime law enforcement, pollution response and port security experience, having been a marine inspector, marine casualty investigating officer, oil and hazardous chemical pollution response officer, and port security planner during his service with the Coast Guard. Based on this experience, Mr. Dickman was contracted by the U.S. Ocean Commission to be the primary drafter of the Chapter on Marine Operations in the Review of U.S. Ocean and Coastal Law for the Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, "An Ocean Blueprint for the 21^st Century" (2004). He also was a technical reviewer of the report by the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council, "Tackling Marine Debris in the 21^st Century."

Significant Matters

Mr. Dickman is recognized for his knowledge on international and U.S. marine safety, security and environmental protection legal systems. He has worked extensively on international maritime matters including issues relating to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international treaties concerning maritime environmental protection and vessel safety, including MARPOL, SOLAR, STCW and International Tonnage Convention. Mr. Dickman is a former deputy head of the U.S. delegation to the Marine Environmental Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization. He is an authority on criminal enforcement of maritime environmental laws and has extensive experience in advising marine industry clients on developing effective environmental compliance programs as well as safety management systems under the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. He also has extensive experience with legal systems and regulations addressing port and vessel safety and security, port state control issues, and the transportation of hazardous materials and dangerous cargoes. While in the Coast Guard, he was a drafter of the Coast Guard's "Model Maritime Code" and a member of legal teams that consulted with the Governments of Albania and Peru on implementation of maritime legal and regulatory systems.

Activities

Maritime Law Association of the United States

Committee on Marine Ecology and Maritime Criminal Law

Committee on Regulation of Vessel Operations, Safety, Security and Navigation

Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Crime

American Bar Association

Section on Environment, Energy and Resources

Section on Administrative Law

Propeller Club of Washington, D.C.