Press Releases
Benesch Partners Jonathan Todd and Philip Nester Named to 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in Maritime, Admiralty & The High Seas
July 15, 2026
Benesch is pleased to announce that Jonathan Todd, co-lead of the firm’s Transportation & Logistics Practice Group, and Partner Philip Nester have been named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in Maritime, Admiralty & The High Seas.
This guide honors lawyers whose experience spans piracy, international disputes, offshore energy and superyachts, as well as cruise ship injuries and ship finance. They advise clients navigating the 71 percent of the Earth covered by water—from Monaco and Galveston to London and Athens’ port of Piraeus, and from Seattle and Dubai to New Orleans and Hong Kong.
Honorees are selected by the Lawdragon editorial team through submissions, journalistic research and rigorous editorial review. The Lawdragon 500 series is widely regarded as one of the legal industry’s most prestigious distinctions, spotlighting leading attorneys across all practice areas.
Jonathan is a nationally recognized authority on supply chain, transportation, logistics, and international trade matters, with a career built entirely around advising clients in industries where speed, precision and risk management are critical. He is personally ranked Chambers USA National Band 1, reflecting both his individual excellence and his leadership in building an elite, nationwide transportation and logistics practice.
Jonathan advises a wide‑ranging client base that includes manufacturers, retailers, technology companies, carriers across all transportation modes, freight forwarders, maritime operators and property brokers. His practice includes extensive work in maritime transportation, where he supports ocean carriers, NVOCCs and logistics providers throughout the lifecycle of their operations. This includes forming and maintaining NVOCC and OFF operations, developing maritime bills of lading and related contractual frameworks and advising on cargo handling, warehousing and multimodal transportation obligations. He also regularly counsels’ clients on acquisitions, divestitures and strategic business expansion involving maritime assets and ocean‑borne service lines.
Phil is a leading transportation and maritime lawyer who advises sophisticated market participants on complex regulatory, transactional and risk management matters across the ocean transportation and global supply chain ecosystem. His practice focuses on shippers, ocean transportation intermediaries, steamship lines, drayage carriers and inland service providers involved in international, domestic and non‑contiguous U.S. trade.
In recent years, Phil has played a central role in maritime regulatory compliance and ocean transportation contracting, with particular depth in matters governed by the Shipping Act of 1984 and Federal Maritime Commission regulations. He regularly counsels clients on FMC‑regulated activities, ocean transportation service agreements, rate and charge compliance, intermediary licensing issues and operational risk exposure associated with global ocean movements.
View the full list of honorees here.