PRACTICE AREAS

Admiralty and Maritime Law

Attorneys at Anderson Burnside have extensive experience in the field of maritime law.  We have represented offshore installation owners, operators and service providers, vessel owners, barge lines, shippers, and parties involved in cargo transportation. We have experience dealing with Jones Act, Longshore and General Maritime personal injury claims. Anderson Burnside attorneys also have experience dealing with various shipping contracts.

Our firm’s maritime practice has evolved from maritime defense of Jones Act claims, to issues relating to cargo and transshipments, vessel owners, maritime tort litigation, commercial litigation, salvage, permitting issues, vessel seizures, and marine insurance matters.

Our lawyers are active in several maritime organizations, including the Maritime Law Association of the United States, the Houston Mariners Club and the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute.

The following are types of matters handled by the Firm:

• Jones Act personal injury/Maintenance and Cure
• Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Wrongful death
• Cargo loss or damage claims
• Vessel Charters
• Products Liability
• Pollution Liability
• Marine Insurance
• Claims arising out of vessel collisions and allisions
• Coast Guard hearings and inquiries, as well as investigations by other government agencies

At Anderson Burnside, our clients receive the personal attention they have come to expect. Our focus on value based success saves time and money, while protecting our clients’ interests in high-stakes negotiations and litigation.

Cargo, Trucking and Logistics

Anderson Burnside attorneys handle many types of disputes involving cargo, trucking, and logistics law.

We assist trucking and logistics companies, including intrastate, interstate and international carriers, freight forwarders, transportation brokers, and storage facilities, as well as their insurers, in matters related to property damage, lost/stolen cargo, general liability, and personal injury.

The cargo matters we handle extend to goods moving by multiple methods of transportation, whether domestic, intrastate, interstate, or international, and moving under bills of lading, air waybills, “through” bills, and other transportation and shipping contracts.

Our services also extend to drafting and reviewing terms and conditions for bills of lading, contracts of carriage, broker agreements and other shipping documents, as well as policy coverage and language for ocean and inland marine, trucking risk, hull and machinery, protection and indemnification, and general liability policies.

Commercial Litigation

Anderson Burnside attorneys have represented clients in almost all types of business-related disputes and litigation, including breaches of contract, business torts, employment disputes, general civil litigation, business entity disputes, product liability, insurance coverage litigation, appeals, and appellate review.

Defamation / Business Disparagement

Defamation and business disparagement are serious matters with which Anderson Burnside attorneys are well-equipped to handle. Defamation involves false oral and/or written statements that harm another person. Business disparagement can occur when a party makes false oral or written statements disparaging a business or its goods. These statements are typically intended to cause financial harm. If you or your business are facing these issues, our firm can assist you.

Anderson Burnside attorneys are experienced in complex civil litigation, including claims of defamation and business disparagement. We assist our clients with reputation management and legal representation in the face of defamation that threatens their reputations, businesses and livelihoods. We also represent individuals who are facing false accusations of libel or slander.

Employment

Anderson Burnside attorneys are prepared to protect your business. We understand that employment litigation for any business, and especially small businesses, can be a stressful and costly experience due to the fact that most claims are not covered by insurance.  As a result, our attorneys strive to provide value-based services to our clients finding themselves involved in employment litigation.

We also provide supportive services to employers to assist in the prevention of claims through the implementation of corporate policies and employee handbooks. When litigation does occur, however, we provide cost effective representation targeted to your legal and financial goals.

Litigation Representing Plaintiffs

Anderson Burnside attorneys have enjoyed success representing plaintiffs and defendants. Our experience defending various small businesses engaged in varied industries, as well as defending some of the nation’s largest oil and gas service companies, allows us to see the big picture when representing plaintiffs, and provides us with a significant edge over firms who confine their practice to representing plaintiffs. It allows us to more fully understand the legal landscape and the process of negotiation, and it eliminates the knowledge gap that puts many plaintiffs-only firms at a disadvantage. Our experience also enables us to deliver the quality demanded by those same companies when the need arises to cross the aisle to the plaintiff’s side of the courtroom. Of course, plaintiff’s cases are often brought by smaller companies and individuals or as class actions. As such, we are always amenable to discussing contingent fee arrangements.

Insurance Matters

We represent insurers and their insureds involved in personal injury and tort litigation. We have litigated numerous cases ranging from relatively minor personal injury claims to catastrophic injury and wrongful death and damages claims, including mass tort claims.

Our attorneys routinely engage in matters involving sophisticated claims handling procedures, complex coverage issues, and claims for punitive damages.

We have the capabilities to bring a wide range of experts to the team- including accountants, safety and security experts, medical and legal experts, human factors experts, biomechanical engineers, economic damages experts and computer recreation engineers.

Whether routine or complex; whether state court or federal; whether significant exposure due to the potential for punitive damages or not, Anderson Burnside attorneys are prepared to stand by our clients and provide exceptional representation.

Subrogation

Anderson Burnside attorneys have represented insurance companies and their insureds in subrogation/recovery actions pertaining to various types of casualties and commercial claims. We represent clients on recovery actions related to losses across the country.

Upon being notified of subrogation loss, we immediately begin a thorough investigation into the cause of loss, including an initial inspection of the loss site if necessary, witness interviews, identification and preservation of key evidence and the selection and coordination of appropriate technical consultants.