Best Lawyers in America for Admiralty and Maritime Law
Select a location from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
State
Matthew’s experience and practice primarily includes the representation of shipyards, vessel owners and operators and contractors as well as other businesses in maritime, construction and commercial disputes. This experience includes the defense of Jones Act, Longshore Harbor and Worker’s Compensation Act, and maritime personal injury claims, as well as maritime contractual disputes and maritime property damage matters. Matthew’s experience also includes the defense of insur...
Jason Waguespack serves as Managing Director of Galloway and focuses his practice on admiralty and maritime litigation. He regularly represents domestic and international insurers, vessel owners, and offshore service companies, handling a broad range of maritime, commercial, and insurance-related matters. Jason is also a trained mediator. More on Jason’s leadership and maritime experience: gallowaylawfirm.com
Michael A. Winkleman is an active trial and appellate attorney at Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. Mr. Winkleman has been featured on dozens of national television segments due to his expertise in maritime and cruise ship law related matters. This includes appearances on the Today Show, 20/20, Inside Edition, Fox News and many more. Mr. Winkleman has also won several awards including ‘Top 20 under 40 Professional’ by Brickell Magazine, “Superlawyer” for numerous...
Mark R. “Tiger” Pharr III has represented clients for more than 35 years in a wide range of matters, including construction defect, premises liability, insurance defense, personal injury, professional liability, and trucking. Tiger’s litigation practice includes jury trials, bench trials, mediations, and arbitrations, and he has handled appeals before state and federal courts. His experience also includes acting as a mediator and arbitrator in civil cases. Explore Tiger&rsqu...
Scott Jenkins is a partner in and leader of the Maritime Practice Group and co-leader of the Maritime Industry Team. He advises clients on a broad range of maritime transactions, compliance, and litigation. Scott advises clients on coastwise trade, security, citizenship, manning, and vessel documentation issues; contracts; service agreements; charter agreements; disputes arising from commercial, construction, insurance coverage, and indemnity issues; personal injury and casualty litigation; a...
Bert M. Cass Jr., is a jury trial litigator concentrating in the defense of bodily injury and death cases particularly in marine and offshore litigation claims. His practice focuses on representing vessel owners, oil and gas producers, exploration and drilling companies, facility operators, distributors, and offshore service contractors and their insurers against personal injury, wrongful death and survival claims. He is also experienced in energy-related claims, including interpretation of i...
Tony Cuva has been practicing admiralty and maritime law for over thirty years and has been board certified for over twenty years. He handles a large array of admiralty and maritime matters as well as civil litigation. Tony Cuva has handled Jones Act cases, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation act cases, maritime personal injury cases, collisions, allisions, Cargo claims, environmental issues relative to clean water discharge, Coast Guard and OSHA investigations, and recreational ...
Richard D. Rusak is a partner in the Miami office of Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A and Board Certified in Marine/Admiralty Law by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Education and Specialization since 2010. He is an accomplished trial lawyer with two decades of litigation and appellate experience in federal and state courts and primarily represents major insurance companies, ship owners and marinas in marine/admiralty defense cases. Mr. Rusak also practices in the areas of hospitality defense, tr...
Dean Robb is a partner in the firm's Honolulu office and is a member of the Corporate & Business Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on corporate business, finance, construction, acquisitions, ocean and maritime activities, administrative law, government procurement, and international transactions. Admitted to bars throughout the Pacific, Mr. Robb also has considerable experience in the U.S. Pacific islands, including Guam, Saipan and Micronesia. He continues an active practice i...
Doug Muller brings considerable experience in federal and state courts, both at the trial and appellate levels. His maritime clients benefit from the professional judgment he has gained over 20 years as an admiralty lawyer and litigator. For his maritime clients, Doug often works with tight deadlines and on very short notice to respond around the clock to those with urgent needs. His broad-based knowledge informs his general maritime practice, in which he represents ship owners, vessel charte...
Steve Herman is special counsel in Fishman Haygood’s Litigation Section. With thirty years of experience, Steve’s primary practice has lately focused on representing both plaintiffs and defendants in commercial, class action, and professional liability cases, and he is often asked to provide expert testimony in such matters. He recently, for example, submitted a series of declarations in support of class counsel’s successful fee petition in the multi-billion dollar Aqueous F...
Christopher R. Nolan is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's New York office and serves as co-chair of the firm's Transportation and Infrastructure Industry Sector Group. Mr. Nolan has spent the past decade settling or mediating cases to resolution before filing a suit, before end of fact discovery in filed cases, before the end of expert discovery, before trial, and all the moments in between in regard to court cases and arbitrations around the world. When the opposing counsel or ...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.