Chester D. Hooper practices in the Maritime Litigation Practice Group and focuses in the areas of collision, the defense of vessel interests against claims for cargo damage, multimodal carriage of cargo, and drafting bills of lading and other shipping documents.

He was navigator of the USS TRUCKEE (AO 147) while on active duty in the U.S. Navy and also sailed as a Third Mate in the United States Merchant Marine. He has tried numerous cargo cases on behalf of vessel interests as well as collision cases.

Mr. Hooper teaches the admiralty law course at the Boston University School of Law. He has published numerous articles on admiralty cargo issues and has lectured on the subject of the carriage of goods at many seminars, including the following institutions: The Admiralty Law Institute of Tulane University School of Law, the Louisiana State University School of Law, the University of Connecticut School of Law, the Houston Marine Insurance Seminar and the Southeast Admiralty Law Institute Seminar.

He was president of The Maritime Association of the United States from 1994 to 1996 and is a Titulary member of Comite Maritime International. He served as a member of the United States delegation to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) working group that drafted the Rotterdam Rules, which will replace the present treaties governing the international carriage of goods that include a sea leg.