Best Lawyers in Louisiana, United States for Admiralty and Maritime Law
Select a city from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
Cities
Paul Sterbcow is the managing member of Lewis, Kullman, Sterbcow & Abramson, LLC. Paul obtained a B.S. from Tulane University and a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law. Paul is licensed to practice in all Louisiana state and federal courts, along with the United States Supreme Court. Paul’s primary practice area is admiralty and maritime law, an area in which he has been recognized as one of the best practitioners in the country. Paul was selected as a member of the Plaintiff&...
Zoë Vermeulen advises businesses on labor and employment matters, commercial litigation , offshore energy , and admiralty and maritime law. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, she represents employers across a range of industries and focuses on practical legal guidance that aligns with each client’s operational and business objectives while accounting for an evolving regulatory environment. As part of her Litigation – Labor and Employment practice at Kean Miller , Zoë works...
Senior Counsel Will Bland, III, one of the founding members of the firm, has more than 49 years of experience as a litigator. Will’s practice focuses on maritime personal injury defense, maritime collision and property damage insurance coverage, contractual indemnity, longshore matters, transportation defense, and general litigation. His clients have included both Fortune 500 and local one-boat companies, and he regularly represents vessel operators, shipyards, both brown water and offs...
A firm founder, Senior Counsel André Mouledoux is a seasoned litigator who brings his clients more than 40 years of battle-hardened experience. André’s practice focuses on maritime, insurance and transportation defense. He is also a skilled commercial and corporate counsel. He has successfully litigated serious commercial disputes and catastrophic tort cases from California to Rhode Island, the U.K. to Egypt. He has tried and won defense verdicts in a number of wrongful de...
Mr. Flint is a Shareholder in the New Orleans office with a practice that includes both commercial and civil litigation within the maritime and energy fields. His maritime industry experience includes the representation of drilling and service companies, blue and brown water vessel owners, charterers, and insurers. Particularly related to his maritime practice, Mr. Flint has developed a specialty with DBA cases defending burn pit and PTSD claims. His longevity in the practice area and concern...
Rodger focuses on maritime and oilfield transactions and litigation. This includes insurance coverage, marine finance and vessel documentation, litigation, corporate and commercial law, and international transaction primarily in Latin America. Rodger was born in Durham, North Carolina. His educational background includes: Phillips Academy (Andover), 1968; an undergraduate degree from Stanford University, 1972; a Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University, 1977; and a Juris Do...
Leading Maritime Injury Advocate Ian Taylor is a trusted advocate for individuals injured at sea, recognized for his skill in complex maritime, products liability, and civil litigation cases. As a member of Lewis, Kullman, Sterbcow & Abramson, LLC, he was appointed by a federal judge to the Executive Committee overseeing litigation from the 2021 SEACOR POWER maritime disaster and has played a key role in securing multi-million-dollar recoveries for clients in the BP oil spill and other ma...
Walter Maestri is a maritime attorney working in the offshore fields representing companies that have contracts with oil and gas interests in the Gulf of Mexico. Whether representing the actual platform owner or the service industries that provide support to the oil and gas industry, he defends those companies against personal injury actions, property damage loss, lost oil and gas revenues, or other claims that may arise from operations in the Gulf. Working in partnerships with his clients, W...
Michael J. Ecuyer is a member of the law firm of Gainsburgh, Benjamin, David, Meunier, & Warshauer, L.L.C. Michael is engaged in a civil litigation practice. He practices with an emphasis on the representation of plaintiffs in medical malpractice claims, admiralty or maritime matters, mass torts, FELA claims and personal injury claims. A member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the New Orleans Bar Association, the Louisiana Association for Justice (Executive Committee), and the Fede...
Michael F. Held is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Admiralty and Maritime Law. Michael F., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael F. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Grady Hurley is a partner in and co-leader of the maritime litigation, arbitration, and dispute resolution team and co-chair of the Energy, Environmental & Natural Resources Industry Team. Since 1979, he has focused on maritime, oilfield, and energy litigation. Grady has broad-ranging dispute resolution and transactional experience at the intersection of energy and maritime law, including in areas such as offshore energy exploration, production, and distribution, where a range of complex ...
Robert S. Stassi is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Admiralty and Maritime Law, Commercial Litigation and Construction Law. Robert S., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Robert S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Bret LeBreton is a partner in the Maritime Practice Group and a member of the insurance coverage team. He has practiced in all facets of maritime, energy, and marine and non-marine insurance law. Bret has represented assureds, underwriters, and other industry participants in a broad range of disputes involving hull, cargo, builder's risk, P&I, MEL, CGL, control of well, and excess and umbrella policies. He has given opinions regarding coverage, prepared reservations of rights, and advised...
Stewart focuses on bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditors’ rights; admiralty and maritime; marine finance and vessel documentation; asset-based finance; litigation, corporate and commercial law; and oil and gas. Stewart has been practicing law in New Orleans for more than 38 years. He is a 1974 graduate of Kenyon College, magna cum laude , where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated top in his class in 1977 from Tulane Law School where he was elected to the Order of the Coif...
Marty McLeod practices in the area of marine and energy and business litigation law. He represents U.S. and foreign vessel owners as well as offshore energy companies in a variety of marine and energy matters, including regulatory issues, business counseling, bankruptcy, and property, loss of use, pollution and commercial disputes. Marty serves as the practice coordinator of Phelps Dunbar's New Orleans admiralty group and is a current member of the firm's Operations Committee. Prior to enteri...
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.