Robert J. Gruendel serves as Global Co-chair of the Firm’s Energy Practice. He also leads the Firm’s US-based shipping and maritime practice. Mr. Gruendel concentrates his own practice in both the energy and maritime sectors with particular emphasis on project work related to oil and gas, liquefied natural gas, port infrastructure and fleet development. He has spent considerable time on such projects in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.

Among his other principal areas of practice are transportation infrastructure development and related project finance; government concession agreements in energy, transportation, waste, and other sectors; project work in such areas as water, power, petroleum, and gas; infrastructure privatization; marine insurance; commodities trading; and pollution.

Mr. Gruendel is a past member of the board of directors of the US Maritime Law Association and past chairman of the board of New York Maritime, Inc. He has written extensively on LNG, port development, and energy-related transportation and has gained a reputation with respect to the production, transportation, and storage of LNG.

He has frequently spoken before professional groups on LNG, oil & gas, port development, and shipping matters. Mr. Gruendel has been cited in Euromoney's Expert Guides: Shipping & Maritime Lawyers and Expert Guides: Project Finance Lawyers. Martindale-Hubbell ranks him AV, its highest available ranking. He is named in Best Lawyers in America in the "Shipping" category and among the top Energy lawyers in New York by SuperLawyers.

Admissions

• New York

Memberships

• Member, AIPN (Association of International Petroleum Negotiators)
• American Bar Association, Committee on International Law
• Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Committee on Admiralty (Chairman, 2000-2003)
• Maritime Law Association of the United States: Past Member, Board of Directors (2003 - 2006); Committee on Maritime Legislation
• New York Maritime, Inc., Board of Directors (Chairman, 2003-2006)

Publications

• Co-authored "International LNG Sales into North America," LNG Journal, May/June 2004
• Co-authored "The Maritime Contract and Admiralty Jurisdiction: Recent Developments Help Clarify an Inherently Confused Landscape," Tulane Law Review, Spring 2003
• "Domestic Law and International Conventions, The Imperfect Overlay: The FAA as a Case Study," Tulane Law Review, June 2001
• "Proper Planning Essential to Port Development Funding," The Maritime Advocate, July 1999
• North American correspondent, International Insurance Law Review
• Editor, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, 1990-1998

Seminars

• Co-chair and Speaker, LNG Shipping Asia 2007, "Implementing Effective Strategies to Address Commercial Issues and Challenges in LNG Shipping,” Singapore, June 2007
• “LNG Shipping Contracts – Risk Management,” Global LNG Shipping Symposium, London, United Kingdom, September 2006
• "Contract Risk Management in LNG Shipping Projects," 2nd International Middle East LNG Shipping Forum, Doha, Qatar, May 2006
• Co-Chair and speaker, Advanced Conference on LNG Contract Management: Mitigating Risk and Balancing Contractual Obligations Across the LNG Value Chain, Houston, Texas, November - December 2005
• Conference Workshop On Port Development, Lloyd's List Third International Port Investors Forum, London, April 2005
• Chairman, LNG Supply Chain Strategies Conference, Houston, Texas, March 2005
• Comparative Aspects of U.S. and Mexican Maritime Law, Manzanillo, Mexico, March 2005
• Speaker, LNG Roundtable at the Tulane Business Forum, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 2004
• Speaker, IQPC conference on LNG USA, Houston, Texas, September 2004
• Chairman, “Shipping at Risk: Current Issues in Port and Maritime Security,” New York City Bar Association, New York, New York, 2002
• Chairman, Institute for International Research's Conference on Port Development and Financing, Miami, Florida, April 1999
• Speaker, “Legal Aspects of Port Development and Privatization” 3rd Annual Baltic Transit Gateway Conference, Riga, Latvia, June 1998
• Speaker, Panama Maritime Exposition, the International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators, and the International Bunker Industry Symposium