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Shareholder | Houston

Areas of Expertise
• Air & Ocean Transportation Claims (COGSA, Warsaw Convention)
• Admiralty/Maritime Litigation
• Arbitration
• Energy/Oilfield Litigation
• Federal Workers’ Compensation (LHWCA, OCSLA, DBA)
• General Civil Litigation
• Insurance
• Jones Act
• Personal Injury/Wrongful Death Defense
• Property Damage
• Toxic Tort

Mr. Williams believes that the most effective way to succeed in litigation is to forge a true partnership between client and counsel. Such a relationship involves understanding the client’s concerns and communicating advice in a clear and concise manner.

“As a law firm, he says, “we are aware that it is the client’s decision as to how to proceed on its case. Our objective is to provide counsel so that the client all has the necessary tools to make a fully informed decision on what is best for it as an individual or company. Our role is to implement a litigation strategy designed to achieve the client’s goal, whether through trial or settlement”

His dedication to the service of his clients has helped him achieve Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating for legal ability and professional ethics as reflected by the opinions of his peers and members of the judiciary. Mr. Williams has successfully defended clients in high-stakes maritime, international, commercial and civil litigation matters for over 20 years. He has also represented companies and insurers in commercial disputes, achieving multi-million dollar recoveries in cases involving maritime liens and insurance coverage. He has recently obtained dismissal or favorable settlements for clients in multi-million dollar claims arising from: product liability for multiple deaths; energy/oilfield property damage and revenue loss; wrongful death from pipeline explosions; and land-based, maritime and offshore personal injuries. The most recent victory was dismissal of a drilling company’s $45 million property damage and lost profits claim against a shipyard client on the first day of trial. He developed the legal argument for an international air carrier client, affirmed by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression, precluding claims against the carrier arising under state law.

After receiving his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Abilene Christian University in 1981, Mr. Williams earned his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University in 1984 and attended the Maritime Institute at the University of Southampton in England in 1983-84 as a scholarship student. He later earned an L.L.M. in Admiralty from Tulane University in 1986.  

He is licensed to practice in all courts in Texas and admitted to the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. 

Mr. Williams is a Member of the Defense Research Institute, the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, the Maritime Law Association of the United States, The Propeller Club of the United States and is an arbitrator with the Houston Maritime Arbitrators Association. He has spoken at numerous seminars presented by the National Business Institute, Lorman Education Systems and several corporations and insurance companies.