Biography: Shipping & Maritime

Francisco Linares is a partner in the shipping and admiralty litigation department of Morgan & Morgan. He joined the firm in 1996, and has been a partner since 2005. Mr Linares handles all kinds of maritime disputes (dry and wet). His practice includes claims regarding cargo damage, personal injury, charter party, marine insurance, collisions, salvage, oil pollution, and claims against the Panama Canal Authority for accidents occurring during transit.

Some notable cases include Asecomer v PPC (on port operator's liability for cargo damage), the Sea Guardian (on whether Canal pilots' fault can be imputed to the vessels they control, in in rem claims), Olenek Shipping v Assicurazioni Generali (on a hull insurer's ability to reject coverage for a vessel's total loss) and the Tropical Reefer (on naval mortgage enforcement and a mortgagee bank's liability in relation to cargo for wrongful arrest, which involved litigation in Panama and London (see 2006 1 Lloyd's Rep. 93)).

Important clients include large shipowners, P&I clubs, large hull underwriters, cargo underwriters, port operators, shipyards, bunkers suppliers, oil companies and major banks. Mr Linares holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame (BA Phil/Econ, 1992) and Tulane University (Juris Doctor cum laude, 1996). He is a member of the National Bar Association of Panama, the Maritime Law Association of Panama, the Panama Chamber of Shipping, the Ibero-American Institute of Maritime Law and the Law Faculty of the Universidad Catolica Santa Maria La Antigua. Mr Linares has been appointed to the Presidential Commission in charge of commemorating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Pacific Ocean (2012-13).