Allison N. Skopec
Associate
Overview
Allison N. Skopec is a New York-based attorney who is engaged in a broad range of international and domestic litigation, regulatory compliance and transactional matters in the areas of complex commercial, maritime, intellectual property, environment and technology. Ms. Skopec has experience throughout every step of discovery and has secured favorable outcomes for clients in both state and federal court actions, as well as in arbitrations and mediations. Ms. Skopec frequently publishes think pieces and speaks at conferences on cutting-edge legal issues with international implications.
Ms. Skopec maintains an active pro bono practice, including representing individuals seeking asylum, Violence Against Women Act protections, LGBTQ civil rights and sustainability matters. Most recently, she assisted with helping refugees from Afghanistan seek asylum. She has also helped challenge the use of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers to prolong the detention of those without U.S. citizenship in New York and was part of a team that achieved a historic settlement against the Port Authority Police Department related to its alleged discriminatory policing based on sexual orientation in New York transportation facilities. Additionally, she served as a Pro Bono Fellow at the New York Civil Liberties Union in 2018.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Skopec worked as an attorney for an international law firm in its New York City office. During law school, Ms. Skopec was a student attorney for the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, where she managed administrative and environmental law cases related to the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act and Superfund litigation, and she received a specialization in maritime law. She was also the senior online editor for the Tulane Maritime Law Journal and a research assistant for Professor Oliver A. Houck.
Representative Experience
- Received a bench trial verdict on March 4, 2024, in favor of a Brazilian fertilizer company, against a commodities trader for breach of contract damages; client was awarded principal plus pre-judgment damages totaling $7,762,155.27; the ruling has value beyond the Florida shores, as it is now one of the most comprehensive rulings relying on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and has implications concerning the negotiating and closing of contractual terms using WhatsApp
- Represented internet service providers (ISPs) with regard to the Copyright/Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in a U.S. in cases brought by the music industry that sought damages of more than $1 billion for alleged infringing activities of the ISP's subscribers
- Represented parties in cargo disputes concerning delivery, deviation, bills of lading obligations and defenses
- Secured limitation of liability for a client
- Represented a leading retailer in bringing claims that certain footwear carried in stores and online infringed on design patents, trademarks and trade dress associated with a leading footwear company's products
- Representing clients, including a multinational electronics and information technology company, in assessing alleged U.S. Shipping Act violations and the recently enacted Ocean Shipping Reform Act, including representation before the Federal Maritime Commission
- Represented a client before U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in filing a delisting petition; the designation as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) imposed a virtual commercial "death sentence" for both a shipping company and its motor tanker; OFAC removed the shipping company and its tank vessel from OFAC's SDN list; the delisting enabled the tank vessel to return to work and restore the vessel to full operations without delay
- Client counseling including, but not limited to, United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), International Seabed Authority and Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ); representative MARPOL enforcement cases involving Annex I, such as oily water separator bypasses and oil record books (ORBs), and Annex VI, which includes comprehensive training for crew on policies, procedures and recordkeeping requirements
- Counseling related to transactions and disputes involving the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Maritime Administration (MARAD), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and matters before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
- Representation of offshore companies related to the offshore wind industry in the U.S. market
- Counseled a cruise line in defense of a matter brought under Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act
- Representation of lenders in connection with the restructurings of several U.S.-flag Jones Act companies, as well as citizenship counseling
- Representing a sustainable energy startup working on a novel carbon-free energy system using ammonia as a renewable fuel
- Represented a Latin American mining company regarding an agreement for the sale of solar salts to an Asian contractor for a 700-megawatt (MW) solar thermal project in the Middle East
- Represented arts and design-related organizations in general business counseling, contract drafting and protecting intellectual property interests
- Represented a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, in its business combination with a launch vehicle company, which reached space faster than any other privately funded U.S. company in history; the transaction formed a publicly traded pure-play space company that began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market July 2021
- Represented a private equity firm that invests in middle-market companies in North America and Europe, in its acquisition of a logistics company
Credentials
- Tulane University Law School, J.D.
- Trinity University, B.A., Environmental Studies and Studio Art; Minor in Art History
- New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- Maritime Law Association of the United States (MLAUS), Committee on Autonomous Ships and Smart Marine Technology, Co-Founder and Vice Chair, 2024-present; Secretary, 2021-2024
- American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS), Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee, Membership Vice Chair, 2018-Present; Law Student Writing Competition, Vice Chair, 2018-Present
- New York City Bar Association, Admiralty Committee, Secretary, 2021-2023
- Tulane Maritime Law Journal, Alumni Mentor, 2018-Present
- Tulane Public Interest Law Foundation, Tulane University Law School, President, 2016-2017
- Dean Rufus Harris Peer Fellow Program, Co-Founder, 2017
- 2024 Toyota Counsel in Motion Program
- Her Justice Commitment to Justice Award, 2023
- Tulane 34 Award for Exemplary Leadership, Service, and Academic Excellence, Tulane University Law School, 2018
- Certificate of Specialization in Admiralty & Maritime Law, Tulane University Law School, 2018
- The Martin J. Davies Award for Exceptional Dedication, Tulane University Law School, 2017-2018
- Jackson-Ryan Pro Bono Advocate Award, Tulane University Law School, 2018
- American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (ABA TIPS), Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee (AMLC) and Gard National Writing Competition, Winner, 2017, 2018
- English
- German