Best Lawyers Near You in Houston, Texas for Admiralty and Maritime Law
Maritime lawyers in Houston handle a broad array of legal issues arising from one of the nation’s most active maritime and offshore energy regions. Their work spans litigation involving vessel collisions, maritime personal injury claims, cargo loss and damage, offshore platform and rig incidents and complex insurance coverage matters under admiralty jurisdiction. In addition to dispute resolution, these attorneys provide transactional and commercial services such as vessel and offshore asset sales, shipyard and repair contracts, charter agreements and maritime finance counseling. Given Houston’s role as a central hub for Gulf Coast shipping, offshore energy support and inland waterway transport, maritime lawyers in Houston have their work cut out for them.
Why This Listing Matters
Lawyers included in our Admiralty and Maritime Law listings are selected through our long-standing Purely Peer Review® process. Each year, we conduct confidential surveys of leading attorneys, asking them to evaluate their peers based on professional ability, integrity and experience in the practice area. Inclusion reflects the respect of fellow lawyers and identifies those recognized as leading maritime practitioners serving Houston and the broader Gulf Coast maritime community.
About Admiralty and Maritime Law
The admiralty and maritime practice involves all aspects of legal work relating to marine activities. This includes litigation, commercial transactions, and non-litigation counseling, as well as regulatory work before federal and state agencies. Firms with litigation caseloads generally represent clients in matters involving collision, personal injury, cargo loss, workers' compensation, maritime commercial disputes and insurance coverage relating to inland marine vessels, oceangoing vessels, passenger vessels, drill rigs, and other offshore equipment.
Frequently, these firms also handle marine related issues involving mass disasters, major pollution incidents, toxic torts, and class actions. Due to the nature of when and where clients' needs arise, attorneys in this practice frequently are on call 24 hours and travel to distant and sometimes remote locations. In the areas of commercial and counseling, maritime attorneys handle issues relating to vessel sales, shipyard contracts, maritime insurance counseling and evaluation, contract and charter drafting and negotiations, and maritime finance advice. In the context of the regulatory arena, attorneys typically appear before the United States Coast Guard, Federal Maritime Commission, United States Department of Labor, and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Jason is one of the nation's top trial lawyers for one reason: when he represents a client, he's all in. No matter how tough the fight. No matter how big the challenge. When it matters most, he's there for people who have been wronged. He takes every case personally, treating each client like family while he fights to rebuild their lives. When people need to win, they call Jason. He's won several verdicts and settlements worth more than $100 million, dozens of results worth more than $10 mill...
If you had told John Schouest 30 years ago that he would become the leader of a dynamic and multistate law firm, he would have said “no way.” But over time, he realized that providing quality client representation could be achieved in a collegial and respectful environment. He aligned himself with others who felt the same, and SBSB Law was born. John has always been at home on the water. As a young man, he spent summers working at his father’s push-boat company in Louisiana,...
Allen D. Hemphill is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Admiralty and Maritime Law. Allen D. practices law in Houston, Texas Best Lawyers has recognized Allen D. Hemphill since 2020. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Allen D. Hemphill is held by other lawyers.
Joshua Lee is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Admiralty and Maritime Law. Joshua practices law in Houston, Texas Best Lawyers has recognized Joshua Lee since 2027. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Joshua Lee is held by other lawyers.
Kurt Arnold is a relentless advocate for his clients, having obtained billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements. One of the nation’s most accomplished trial lawyers, Kurt prepares every case for trial. Of course, many cases resolve before trial, but defendants and insurance companies only pay the largest settlements when he gives them no alternative. Kurt finds helping individuals defeat companies that have continuously denied his clients justice to be one of the most rewarding pa...
Caj Boatright has made a habit of winning exceptional verdicts and settlements for his clients. In fact, in the last couple of years, it would be difficult to find another trial lawyer who has tried more cases to verdict and obtained more multimillion-dollar settlements even though Mr. Boatright has spent only five years of his 15-year legal career representing plaintiffs. His winning formula rests on his strong sense of justice and a belief that the American jury system is the best way to he...
Marc Matthews practices in the areas of admiralty and tort litigation with a special emphasis in defending vessel owners and operators from claims arising under the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as well as from claims arising from vessel collisions and cargo damage. He has extensive experience in the arrest and seizure of vessels in the federal courts, both from the standpoint of arresting vessels and from the s...
Thomas Deen is a partner in SBSB’s Corpus Christi and Houston offices. Over a career spanning more than 40 years in maritime law, he has developed a reputation for client service. As a litigator, arbitrator and counsel, he represents clients in other areas including construction, energy, transportation, business transactions and more. A member of SBSB Eastham since September 2016, Tom is a certified arbitrator and is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Houston Maritime Arb...
Tim Strickland is a trial partner in the Houston office of Kean Miller , where he represents clients in Admiralty and Maritime Law and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. Based in Houston, Texas, he has practiced law for more than 33 years across Texas and the Gulf Coast. His background includes service as managing partner of the Houston office of a multi-state maritime litigation firm before joining Kean Miller in 2021. His practice focuses on offshore energy and marine litigation...
Susan Noe Wilson is a partner in SBSB’s office. A member of the firm’s bench since September 2016, she boasts a legal career spanning more than 30 years and a dozen practice areas, ranging from construction and maritime to energy and insurance, trucking, business transactions and more. Ms. Noe Wilson has handled and tried Jones Act cases, 905(b) claims, coverage disputes, commercial matters and land-based and offshore drilling-related disputes in courts throughout the Gulf Coast r...
Scott Armstrong is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Admiralty and Maritime Law. Scott, who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2027. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Scott is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
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.
