Daniel G. McDermott Receives Distinguished Service Award From the American Institute of Marine Underwriters (AIMU)
Daniel G. McDermott, Co-Chair of the Maritime Litigation Practice Group at Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin and esteemed counselor and advisor to the marine insurance industry, has been named a 2021 recipient of the American Institute of Marine Underwriters (AIMU) Distinguished Service Award. The award is given annually in recognition of outstanding service not only to the AIMU organization, but also to the larger marine insurance community. He was presented the award via a virtual ceremony on November 18th.
Mr. McDermott has devoted the entirety of his 45-year legal career to maritime litigation. He has been involved in the defense of some of the largest and most complex marine construction projects around the New York City Metropolitan area, representing general contractors, vessel owners, municipalities and their agencies in suits brought by longshore and harbor workers.
“If you handle maritime, marine or admiralty claims in the greater New York region, there is a very good chance that you know or have heard of Dan McDermott,” said Michael Csorba, President of the Ocean Marine Division at Great American Insurance and AIMU’s Chairman of the Board. “Dan’s dedication to AIMU and other trade associations has brought greater awareness, goodwill, community, and visibility to the marine insurance claims industry. We are thrilled to present him with this award for exceptional and distinguished service to our industry.”
Mr. McDermott is the co-founder of Marine Insurance Day, which is now in its 15th year and is sponsored by AIMU and several other industry associations. The popular event brings claims and legal professionals together to enhance their industry education and professional development. In addition to presenting at Marine Insurance Day, he has been a regular speaker at many other AIMU conferences, including the AIMU Y2 Symposium and the AIMU Atlantic City Conference, where he often lectured on the interplay between federal maritime law and New York labor law.
Mr. McDermott has been equally devoted to the Marine & Insurance Claims Association (MICA), serving as its first President (29-year term) and on its Board of Directors for 34 years. Among his many accomplishments there, he organized and managed the MICA Golf Outing for 35 years.
He has additionally been active in the Maritime Law Association of the United States (MLA), where he authored two amicus curiae briefs to the United States Supreme Court on the organization's behalf. He served a three-year term on the MLA’s Board of Directors and led and was active on several committees over the course of his career.
A 1975 graduate of New York Law School, Mr. McDermott has been recognized in Chambers USA from 2005 to present as a leading lawyer in shipping litigation. In 2014, he was selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an honorary society of trial lawyers. He has also been recognized as a New York Metro Super Lawyer for the past ten years, and he has been named to Best Lawyers in America® from 2009 to present. He is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of New York.