Practice Areas & Industries: Liskow & Lewis, A Professional Law Corporation

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Maritime, Oilfield and Insurance

Liskow & Lewis attorneys are nationally recognized for their representation of clients in matters involving maritime, oilfield and insurance law. Our practice experience includes:

• Cargo Claims
• Oilfield Tort Claims
• Insurance
• Maritime Finance and Liens
• Offshore Contract Drafting and Review
• Offshore Drilling Personal Injury
• Vessel Collisions
• Vessel Construction and Repair Litigation
• Vessel Construction Contract Drafting and Review
• Disaster Recovery

Our clients are major oil companies, national and international corporations, insurance companies and various local and river industry entities. We regularly represent clients during arbitration and mediation and before state and federal courts throughout Louisiana, Texas and the South.

The firm’s successful involvement in a number of unique cases of major importance contributes to our powerful reputation in maritime, oilfield and insurance issues. Such noteworthy cases are:

• The Piper Alpha explosion in the North Sea
• A class action suit involving gasoline claims in four Southern states
• The sinking of the drilling rig Ocean Ranger off the coast of Canada
• Ongoing litigation from a Filipino ferry collision with extensive loss of life
• The Mobile Bay Block 861 blowout
• Class action litigation related to chemical spills on the Mississippi River in the 1990’s
• Numerous significant construction disputes
• Texaco’s deepwater Petronius project and litigation involving the loss of a multi-million dollar deck module

Services Available

Cargo Claims

Liskow & Lewis attorneys represent owners, shippers and carriers in a variety of local and international disputes involving cargo claims. Notable achievements in this area include the successful defense of cargo shortage and cargo damage matters.

Oilfield Tort Claims

When unforeseen incidents occur, clients depend on our responsiveness and resources across offshore and casualty, environmental and insurance law. Our attorneys represent both major and independent oil companies in drilling and completion accidents, well blowouts, reservoir damage, pipeline accidents and other oilfield tort claims.

Insurance

Our attorneys’ experience includes insurance related matters and litigation involving insurance requirements and certificates, first party property claims, coverage disputes and maritime and energy related insurance matters.

Maritime Finance and Liens

The firm’s experience includes financing for ship construction, acquisition and refurbishment loans, offshore equipment leases, and the successful prosecution and defense of vessel arrest and foreclosure proceedings.

In this practice area, there is a particular emphasis on representing clients with oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico seeking to develop and enforce preferred ship mortgages and other types of U.S. and foreign maritime liens.

Offshore Contract Drafting and Review

In our comprehensive contracts practice, firm attorneys serve clients through the various stages of a contract agreement. We create and review offshore agreements, as well as help clients minimize conflicts resulting from the interaction of contracts and various jurisdictions.

Areas in which our attorneys have considerable skills and experience include drafting master service agreements, bareboat and time charters, flight service agreements, construction contracts and daywork, footage and turnkey drilling contracts.

Often the primary goal of many of these projects is the application and enforceability of indemnity and insurance provisions. We believe that resolving contractual and insurance issues in advance is one of the best ways to improve our clients’ bottom lines. We review safety rules to discern liability issues. Our maritime, oilfield and insurance professionals work with our business and oil and gas attorneys to review a variety of agreements from the standpoint of liability, indemnity and insurance issues.

Offshore Drilling

Once a contract is finalized, we protect and support clients by providing immediate advice related to disputes, such as blowouts, environmental disasters and mid-project contract terminations. We also have a wealth of experience successfully litigating every form of dispute and drilling contract issue in court.

Personal Injury

We take an aggressive approach to personal injury claims, and our firm enjoys a long and successful track record in these matters before state and federal courts throughout the South.

Our attorneys have repeatedly demonstrated their skills handling cases involving the Jones Act, offshore and maritime claims, premises liability, occupational exposure and all aspects of environmental and toxic torts.

Vessel Collisions

Liskow & Lewis attorneys represent a variety of clients along the Mississippi River, and elsewhere, for the recovery of property damage business losses resulting from a vessel alliding with fixed structures, such as docks, loading terminals, breasting dolphins and platforms. In many cases, we have successfully avoided litigation. However, we also are fully prepared to pursue quickly in rem and in personam actions when needed to protect our clients’ interests.

Vessel Construction and Repair Litigation

We regularly represent clients in tort and contract disputes involving the construction, repair, and modification of vessels. These cases frequently involve delay and disruption, unabsorbed overhead, breach of contract or warranty, termination for convenience, loss of use and loss of profit. Our attorneys handle these issues in a variety of approaches, including through mediation, arbitration and litigation.

Vessel Construction Contract Drafting and Review

Liskow & Lewis represents vessel owners in all matters involving construction and repair contracts. We handle matters including the negotiation of transactions and obtaining financing for the construction and refurbishment of vessels. Additionally, we counsel clients on insurance issues related to vessel construction and operation, the registry of vessels under the Jones Act or under foreign registry, and compliance with the requirements for classifications of vessels.

Our attorneys also represent vessel owners in disputes with shipyards over construction matters involving quality of construction, cost and delay issues related to change orders, and force majeure issues arising from delays in delivery.

Disaster Recovery

Maritime, oilfield and insurance attorneys work as part of the firm’s catastrophe response team. They represent and advise clients in connection with disaster related personal injuries and property damages of all kinds. Through their years of experience, our attorneys have developed contacts and relationships with a wide array of emergency responders and expert witnesses.

The group’s experience spans property, maritime, business interruption, errors and omissions and general liability insurance issues.