Nicholas Paine

Full Profile

Nicholas Paine has over ten years’ experience specializing in maritime law, in particular its impact on his various client’s sectors and industries, including transportation, energy, and construction. Nicholas has a broad legal experience, ranging from commercial litigation, arbitrations, and personal injury defense, to transactional work and regulatory advice.

Nicholas began his legal career in Houston, Texas, where he practiced as a maritime personal injury defense attorney, before briefly moving in house as counsel for a tug and towboat operator. Upon moving to New York in 2019, he continued his maritime practice representing clients in commercial disputes and arbitrations, as well as advising on maritime and maritime-adjacent regulatory issues. Nicholas then returned to an in-house role for an offshore wind developer in the United States where he focused on the maritime aspects of the company’s work, but also handled other various corporate matters involving transactions, regulations, governance, and litigation, before joining Clyde & Co in his current role.

Admissions

• New York
• Texas
• US District Court for the Southern District of New York
• US District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas
• Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Education

• J.D., cum laude, Roger Williams University School of Law, 2012
• B.A., Vassar College, 2005

Memberships

• American Bar Association
• Maritime Law Association of the United States, Subcommittee Vice Chair
  • Marine Finance Committee: Coast Guard Documentation, US Citizenship and Related Matters

Experience

• Negotiated, drafted, and achieved agreement on numerous charter parties for nearshore and offshore services, in various forms, from BIMCO to manuscript.
• Negotiated, drafted, and achieved agreement on early works, pre-FEED, and similar project planning and development services agreements, and nondisclosure agreements for negotiation process of the same.
• Consulted on maritime-related legal and regulatory issues, and drafted related sections of proposed construction and operation plans and energy offtake bids for major energy generation projects.
• Co-counsel in cases tried before juries in state and federal courts, through verdict, on cases involving contract disputes and maritime toxic torts, successfully arguing numerous pretrial and evidentiar motions related thereto.
• Managed several vessel attachment claims, obtaining securities in support of arbitration.
• Handled discovery, depositions, and motion practice to develop defense of maritime personal injury in numerous cases and claims.

Presentations

• Co-Presenter, “CLE: Recent developments with state offtake contracts and solicitation impacting offshore wind projects, and a technical overview and on date on offshore wind supply chain,” Maritime Law Association of the United States: Spring Meeting, New York City, New York, May 2024
• Co-Presenter, "Offshore Wind: Industry Perspectives on Present and Future," CLE Program, Maritime Law Association of the United States: Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, October 2023
• Co-Presenter, “Offshore Wind: Blowing Into a Port Near You,” Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute: 2023 Seminar, Del Ray, Florida, June 2023