Shem Creek - A seafood-lover's paradise!

If Ron Motley still had his 156-foot mega-yacht Themis, Charleston harbor would certainly be a place to flaunt it, although, I don’t think it would have much room here in Shem Creek – with or without shrimp boats.

Two lawyers from his office though, Frederick “Fritz” Jekel and Paul Doolittle, are announcing the formation and opening of Jekel-Doolittle, LLC. Together, Mr. Jekel and Mr. Doolittle offer a combined 30 years of legal experience to represent residents of South Carolina communities in complex legal matters.

Mr. Jekel and Mr. Doolittle worked together at Motley Rice and other firms for 12 years and credit their experiences for equipping them with the foundation to handle complex litigation. “There is a real advantage in knowing how to help your clients and what needs to be done to get a great result at the end of a hard fought battle,” echoed Doolittle.

Jekel-Doolittle, LLC focuses on serious personal injury actions and trial work in:

“I have reviewed and managed complicated, advanced and unconventional legal issues that a lot of attorneys have not handled,” said Jekel.

• * Nursing home litigation
• * Toxic exposure litigation
• * Catastrophic injury litigation
• * Trucking accident litigation
• * Consumer fraud litigation
• * Criminal defense litigation
• * DUI defense litigation
• * Product liability litigation

The two attorneys seek to parlay their experience from their previous national practices to focus on the legal needs of South Carolina citizens as well as residents of nearby Savannah, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Jekel-Doolittle, LLC operates from the main office located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Mr. Jekel and Mr. Doolittle welcome opportunities to assist attorneys in the region with serious legal matters where they can utilize their courtroom experience. “Fritz and Paul are loyal, hardworking and committed to their clients. We certainly wish them the best,” said Motley Rice LLC co-founding member, Joe Rice.

Internationally known trial lawyer Ron Motley noted, “The two have proven they can get it done in the courtroom. I am sure this will continue to be the case as they work to focus on helping South Carolinians.”

Partners Fritz Jekel and Paul Doolittle may be reached at (843) 654-7700, www.J-DLaw.com, 210 Wingo Way, Suite 201 Mt. Pleasant SC 29464

SPA terminals give S.C. “a great competitive advantage” – When an executive from Michelin’s N.A. upstate headquarters said that last year, who would’ve thought that by December, we’d learn Maersk is leaving Charleston.

To make things even more hectic for local longshoremen and truckers, the SPA CEO is leaving now too.

All this happened before President Obama gave his first weekly address Saturday. In that historical speech, he demanded increased security for our ports, so to say it’s the reason SPA management decided to not successfully renegotiate with the union, and that somehow the SPA’s CEO leaving office has anything to do with it, is totally without merit – although President Obama did mention port security in his earlier campaign pledges.

“…we will rebuild and retrofit America to meet the demands of the 21st century. That means repairing and modernizing thousands of miles of America’s roadways and providing new mass transit options for millions of Americans. It means protecting America by securing 90 major ports…” – Pres. Obama

In fact, the local ILA couldn’t come to terms with Maersk management, and in the end, decided to leave Charleston completely by the end of 2010. Dana Magliola, spokesman for Maersk Line, said “The South Carolina State Ports Authority offered us a workable solution that involved a move into the common yard, but we needed the consent of local ILA to accomplish the move. The local ILA refused to consent, and so we are forced to move.”

According to Shipping Digest, “Not one of the East Coast’s major metropolitan areas, Charleston is nevertheless the second busiest container port on the East Coast, trailing only New York / New Jersey in container volumes.”

Current weekly Maersk departures out of Charleston include:

1. Africa,
2. Asia: Russian Far East, Japan, Korea,
3. Asia: Taiwan, China, Hong Kong,
4. Caribbean/Central America,
5. Europe/Mediterranean, and
6. Indian Subcontinent/Mideast/Red Sea

With Maersk leaving Charleston, it will obviously have a huge impact on the local economy, but another carrier will surely fill the gap when the opportunity arises – let’s just hope it happens sooner, rather than later.