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Ralph J. Mellusi - New York, NY

29 BroadwaySuite 2400 New York, NY 10006

Super Lawyers®

1

Updated: 07/11/2025

New York Jones Act Lawyer

Overview

Ralph J. Mellusi is an experienced and highly effective Maritime Personal Injury attorney who is certified as a "Proctor in Admiralty" by the Maritime Law Association of the United States. As a founding partner of Tabak, Mellusi & Shisha, LLP, Attorney Mellusi has represented Maritime Personal Injury claimants in New York and throughout the United States for over forty years.

Since 1991, he has held the distin¬guished Martindale Hubbell rating of "AV Preeminent", which is given to attorneys evidencing the "Highest Possible Rating in Both Legal and Ethical Standards" and since 2008 has consistently been named to the New York Metro Su¬per Lawyers List.

The field of maritime personal injury is a complex blend of law and maritime operations. Mr. Mellusi has extensive professional knowledge of the maritime industry which derives from a Degree in Marine Engineer¬ing, from SUNY Maritime College, deep sea experience as a ship's engineering officer during the Viet Nam Conflict and re¬search undertaken at the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture.

A significant part of professional career has involved academia. From 1979 to 1981 he was an Adjunct Professor at New York University Graduate School of Continuing Education and from 1983 to 1989 was Adjunct Professor of Maritime Law at his Alma Mata.

His combination of practical maritime and legal competence have made him a driving force in the industry and have enabled him and his team to successfully recover large verdicts for their clients, which in the main, consist of vessels crewmembers, pilots, passengers, dock-workers and harbor workers.

FIRM PROFILE

Tabak Mellusi & Shisha, have decades of experience and a record of success in all types of maritime injury claims. From their offices in New York City, they have represented victims of maritime accidents throughout the United States. The firm has represented clients in high profile cases such as the loss of the Tall Ship Bounty during "Sandy", the loss of the container ship El Faro during "Joaquim" and most recently the collision between the USS John S. McCain and the tank vessel MV Alnic AC.

About Ralph J. Mellusi

Current Employment Position(s)

  • Managing Partner

Practice Areas

  • Jones Act
  • Longshore And Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
  • Passenger And Recreational Boat Accidents
  • Maritime Accidents

Qualifications

Bar Admissions

  • New York, 1975
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1975
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1975
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1975
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of New York, 2000

Other Affiliations

  • Proctor in Admiralty & Member (Maritime Law Association of the U.S)
  • American Bar Association
  • NYS Bar Association
  • New York State Trial Lawyers
  • Association (American Trial Lawyers Association)

Classes and Seminars

  • Human Factors, Seaworthiness and Ships, MITAGS Institute, 2000
  • Unseaworthiness: Human Factors & Merchant Marine, MITAGS Institute, 1996
  • Anatomy of a Coast Guard Casualty Investigation, Coast Guard Docket, 1996
  • Legal Civil Liability, Charter Industry News, 1987 - Present
  • Coast Guard License Suspension Revocation Proceedings, Charter Industry News, 1987
  • Regulation Compliance: Is It Sufficient, Charter Industry News, 1988

Past Positions

  • Maritime Law at New York Maritime College, Adjunct Professor, 1983 - 1989
  • NYU Graduate School Continuing Legal Education, Adjunct Professor, 1981 - 1983

Education

  • New York Law School, New York, New York
  • NYS Maritime College, 1967
    B.E. Marine

Fees

Accepts Credit Cards

Office Information

Address

29 BroadwaySuite 2400 New York, NY 10006

Fax

  • 212-385-0920

Achievements

Other Sources of Feedback About Ralph J. Mellusi

Included on the 2025 New York Metro Super Lawyers list


Past Lists

  • 2024 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2023 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2022 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2021 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2018 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2017 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2016 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2015 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2014 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2013 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2011 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2010 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2009 New York Metro Super Lawyers list
  • 2008 New York Metro Super Lawyers list

View the profile for Ralph J. Mellusi on Super Lawyers

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