Mr. Colson practices in assisting governments in addressing maritime boundary issues, including in the Middle East, African and Latin American regions. He has provided international petroleum companies with advice in the same regard.
Mr. Colson joined the firm in 1996 following a career in the U.S. Department of State. After service in the Department's Legal Advisers Office, he was the deputy assistant secretary for oceans - with rank of ambassador from 1991.
During his career in federal government, he was deputy agent for the United States in the World Court case with Canada to determine the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank area, and was responsible for the oversight of the US maritime boundary program. Prior to service in the US federal government, Mr. Colson served in the U.S. Peace Corps and the Marine Corps.
Selected Activities
· Co-editor: International Maritime Boundaries, Vol. V, 2005
· "Satisfying the Procedural Prerequisites to the Compulsory Dispute Settlement Mechanisms of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention: Did the Southern Blue Fin Tuna Tribunal Get It Right?" (with Dr. Peggy Hoyle). Ocean Development and International Law, Vol. 97, No. 1, January 2003, p. 91
· "Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan (Indonesia v. Malaysia)." American Journal of International Law, Vol. 97, No. 2, April 2003, p. 398
· "The Delimitation of the Outer Continental Shelf between Neighboring States." American Journal of International Law, Vol. 97, No.1, January 2003, p. 91
· "The Law of the Sea: Avenue to Cooperation." Presentation before the Maritime Law Association of the Philippines, Manila, September 1995
· "Statement before the Outer Continental Shelf Policy Committee," Houston, Texas, May 3, 1995
· "U.S. Arctic Policy in the Post Cold War Era." Presentation before the Alaska World Affairs Council, Anchorage, April 1995
· "Statement on U.S. Attitudes Toward the Amended Law of the Sea Convention." Presentation at the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, New York, April 1995 (published in the annual volumes of the society)
· "United States Accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea." Presentation at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., January 27, 1995
· "Conserving World Fish Stocks and Protecting the Marine Environment Under the Law of the Sea Convention." Presentation at the International Ocean Symposium, United Nations University, Tokyo, January 13, 1995