Davies named Niels F. Johnsen Chair in Maritime Law

Martin Davies, the longtime director of the Tulane Maritime Law Center and an internationally recognized authority in the field, has been named the Niels F. Johnsen Chair in Maritime Law.

Davies succeeds Professor Robert Force, the iconic founder of Tulane’s maritime law program who held the Johnsen Chair in Maritime Law from 1989 until his retirement earlier this year.

Davies is a leading scholar in admiralty law who has taught in Australia, England, Singapore and Italy as well as the United States. In 2022, he was awarded a Doctor of Civil Law degree by Oxford University, a prestigious honor for scholars who have made a lasting impact in their field; the honor is so rare that the last time it was conferred within Davies’ college was in the 1960s. Davies joined the Tulane Law School faculty in 2000 after a visiting appointment in 1999.

"We are enormously proud of Martin’s accomplishments and extraordinarily fortunate to count him as a colleague at Tulane Law School and to have him leading our maritime law program.”

Law Dean Marcilynn Burke

“The Chair in Maritime Law represents the importance of our maritime law program,” said law Dean Marcilynn Burke. “Martin’s body of scholarly work, his dedication to the Tulane Maritime Law Center and our students, and his commitment to the field are unsurpassed. We are enormously proud of Martin’s accomplishments and extraordinarily fortunate to count him as a colleague at Tulane Law School and to have him leading our maritime law program.”

Davies’ expertise is sought after not only by those in the legal profession but in the media landscape. In the spring of 2024, during the Key Bridge accident, he was quoted in hundreds of media outlets about the legal issues surrounding the bridge collapse, the liabilities and the impact on the maritime industry.

Force, the visionary behind the Tulane maritime law program at Tulane, has worked with Davies for decades and applauded the decision.

"Tulane Law School has recognized the leadership of Professor Martin Davies, the Director of the Tulane Maritime Law Center, by awarding him the Niels F. Johnsen, Chair in Maritime Law," Force said of his colleague. "Professor Davies is a world-renowned scholar and will continue to lead the most distinguished Maritime Law program in the world."

Davies is the author of nearly a dozen books on maritime law, in multiple editions, and has written dozens of articles and essays contributing to the subject. He previously taught full-time at the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he was the Harrison Moore Professor of Law. Davies, who has been a professional actor, also has worked as a consultant for maritime law firms for 30 years. He serves on the Editorial Board of Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly and the Melbourne Journal of International Law.

In addition to admiralty, he teaches in the areas of international sale of goods and torts. He has written (or co-written) books on maritime law, international trade law, international sale of goods and torts. 

His colleagues and students admire and respect him, as well. He received the Felix Frankfurter Distinguished Teaching Award from the Tulane Law School graduating class in 2003, 2011 and 2023. He also was chosen for a Tulane University President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2012.

“His colleagues know him to be an excellent teacher, a selfless colleague who performs extensive service for the law school and for the university, and a colleague who supports the professional advancement of our students,” said Dean Burke.