Christopher O. Davis New President of Comité Maritime International

Christopher O. Davis of Baker Donelson has been elected president of the Comité Maritime International (CMI).

The CMI, formally established in 1897, is a non-governmental organization based in Antwerp, Belgium, and is comprised of national maritime law associations from the world's leading shipping nations. The CMI's primary objective is to contribute by all appropriate means and activities to the unification of maritime law. 

Davis is the first American to be elected president in the CMI's 121-year history and previously served on the executive council for eight years and as vice president for five years. He was elected to this position at the organization's annual Assembly held in London, England on November 9, 2018 at the IMO's headquarters and will serve a three-year term.

Davis is a shareholder in the New Orleans, Louisiana, office of Baker Donelson and the contact for the Firm's Admiralty and Maritime Practice Group and International Arbitration Practice Group. He has represented marine, energy and insurance clients in arbitration and litigation matters for more than 30 years. Davis has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2007 in the areas of Admiralty & Maritime Law and Transportation Law and has also been named to Louisiana Super Lawyers since 2007. He has been recognized twice as a "Top Lawyer" by New Orleans Magazine in Maritime Law, was named to the Lawdragon 3000 in 2010 and served as the 2011 John W. Sims Distinguished Admiralty Practitioner in Residence at the Tulane University School of Law. 

A 1979 graduate of the Tulane University School of Law and a 1976 graduate of the University of Virginia, Davis is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States where he served a three-year term on the board of directors and as chair of the International Organizations, Conventions and Standards Committee for four years. He serves as an advisory board member for the Tulane Maritime Law Journaland is on the Planning and Program Committees for the Tulane Admiralty Law Institute.