Best Lawyers Near You in Seattle, Washington for Admiralty and Maritime Law
Maritime lawyers in Seattle practice in a legal environment shaped by deep-water ports, international trade and extensive activity along the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest waterways. Their work includes litigation involving vessel collisions, maritime personal injury claims, cargo loss and insurance disputes, as well as advisory and transactional matters such as vessel sales, shipyard and repair contracts, charter agreements and maritime finance. Seattle’s role as a gateway to Alaska and Asia, combined with significant commercial fishing, ferry operations and shipbuilding activity, gives maritime practice in the region a distinct focus on both domestic and international marine commerce.
Inclusion in Best Lawyers for Admiralty and Maritime Law reflects a level of excellence and professional recognition earned through the respect of other lawyers practicing in the field. Our Purely Peer Review® process is designed to identify attorneys whose work is consistently regarded by their peers as demonstrating high levels of skill, experience and integrity. For clients and referring attorneys alike, this recognition serves as a meaningful indicator of trust and professional standing within Seattle’s maritime legal 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.
John Young is a Seattle-based attorney who focuses on business counseling and commercial law. He advises startups and established companies on legal and capital structures, transactions, and business operations. John’s practice includes matters involving property, creditor and debtor relations, and dispute resolution. He also has significant experience structuring international transactions and has represented clients in negotiations across Asia, Central and South America, and the Middl...
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.
