Admiralty & Maritime Law, Insurance Coverage & Defense, and Commercial Litigation

BACKGROUND
Nicoll Black & Feig has a full service maritime practice that is primarily dedicated to the representation of ship owners and their insurers. We trace our maritime roots back to some of the finest law firms in the United States, including Vinson & Elkins, Bogle & Gates, Lane Powell Spears Lubersky, Cozen O’Connor and Troutman Sanders. We founded Nicoll Black Misenti & Feig to create a place where we could practice our creative, aggressive and efficient brand of maritime law for our clients in the setting of a smaller firm. We have invested heavily in technology and assembled a highly capable staff to ensure that we can deliver the same service and results that have become the hallmark of our lawyers.

OUR PRACTICE
We primarily represent vessel owners and their insurers for all of their maritime litigation needs. We also have the capability of assisting in transactional matters and non-marine litigation. We have represented owners of container ships, tankers, dry bulk carriers, break-bulk carriers, tugs and barges, fishing vessels, cruise ships, recreational vessels, Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, supply boats, state and province-owned ferries, and a variety of special purpose vessels such as self-loading log barges and rail barges. We have also represented foreign and domestic shipyards, warehouses, shippers of cargo and a wide variety of insurers in the world-wide marine and energy risk markets.

Our lawyers have served in the past as correspondent counsel for protection and indemnity associations such as GARD, Britannia, Steamship Mutual, the Standard Club, the American Club, the London Club and even the recently-created Korean P&I Club. We are pleased that GARD has notified us that we have been selected as its exclusive legal correspondent for Washington State and British Marine Mutual has likewise selected us as their Washington legal correspondent. We are also honored that our clients have chosen to follow us to our new firm with the transfer of their ongoing matters, including Crowley Marine Services, Seaspan International Inc., Trident Seafoods Corporation, Underwriters at Lloyd’s, American P&I Club, Chevron Texaco Shipping Co., and Boat Owners Association of the U.S., to name a few.

Our maritime litigation track record is characterized by success. We are usually hired at the earliest stages of significant matters. We are retained by clients at both the trial and appellate levels. Our experience is wide-ranging, reflective of our broad admiralty practice. As is typical in a litigation practice, many of our best outcomes are not the result of success at trial or on appeal. For example, our lawyers obtained a settlement for over 100% of the insured and uninsured consequences of a significant engine loss on behalf of a vessel owner and its hull insurers against a repair contractor. Our lawyers obtained a forum non conveniens dismissal of all death and injury claims filed in limitation proceedings we initiated in the U.S. on behalf of our client, a Canadian vessel owner, arising out of a serious collision in Canadian waters. We have had plaintiffs voluntarily dismiss their personal injury cases immediately following their deposition, and achieved settlement on very favorable terms shortly before or after a plaintiff’s deposition. We routinely handle a full range of maritime commercial and transactional matters, including the drafting of and advice on charter parties, crew contracts, contracts of carriage, bills of lading, towage agreements, marine financing agreements, as well as purchase and sale, ship construction and repair contracts. Our lawyers are involved in the all types of traditional maritime litigation, including:

* Defense of seamen’s, longshore worker and passenger wrongful death and personal injury claims
* Maritime arbitrations
* Hull claims
* Claims against the U.S. government,
* Ship repairer’s legal liability
* Cargo damage suits
* Collisions & allisions
* Sinkings, fires, & explosions
* Salvage
* Towage
* Oil pollution and toxic contamination claims under OPA 90, CERCLA and state law
* Container losses and damage
* Chartering and charter disputes
* Vessel arrests
* Ship and port security under domestic and international regimes
* Vessel detentions & seizures
* Crew repatriation
* Crew desertions
* Representation of domestic and foreign governmental entities
* White collar criminal defense related to alleged environmental crimes
* Marine insurance coverage investigations, advice and litigation
* Pleasure craft litigation
* Limitation of Vessel Owner’s Liability

OUR INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Our lawyers have a wide variety of practical and industry experience. This experience includes serving as a U.S. Coast Guard licensed merchant marine officer, working as an attorney in the U.S. Justice Department, working in the factory of a seafood processor, serving as a deckhand aboard a commercial fishing vessel, holding a degree in marine engineering, and serving our nation as a U.S. Naval officer.

OUR TRIAL EXPERIENCE
We have significant experience at the trial and appellate court levels. Two of our attorneys come from prosecuting backgrounds which provided unparalleled in-court experience. For example, Chris Nicoll had over 400 trials as a prosecuting attorney and later as a Naval judge advocate. Fortunately, we have been very successful at trial on behalf of our clients, and we will be pleased to share the details with you on request.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
There are many good maritime attorneys in the Pacific Northwest. It is our resourcefulness, vigilance, and proficiency that enable us to add tangible value for our clients and separate us from our competition.

We invite you to contact any of our maritime attorneys to converse about maritime legal issues, or to discuss your particular needs for a competent maritime attorney.

COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
Unfortunately, litigation is a reality of business life in the United States today. For many commercial entities, the question is no longer if the business will be involved in a lawsuit, but is instead a question of when and how often. Recognizing these facts, our business litigation attorneys are committed to not only aggressively and expertly handling litigation as it occurs, but also providing insight into avoiding future litigation.

Nicoll Black & Feig represents clients in a wide-ranging variety of civil litigation matters. Our practice ranges from disputes involving Internet advertising to seeking compensation for the sale of faulty goods. Our clients are businesses of all sizes and business persons from all backgrounds.

We approach litigation from a business perspective. With that mindset, a cost-benefit analysis is always important. Also important, however, is recognizing that a cost-benefit analysis must often consider factors beyond dollars and cents. We take the time to be certain that we know what our clients’ goals are.

The principle goal of our litigation department is to act for our clients in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Our attorneys have strong academic and professional credentials, as well as extensive trial experience.

COMMERCIAL LAW
As general legal counsel for clients in different industries, and as litigators, we have a broad perspective on the issues that arise in the purchase and sale of products, services and assets. We use that experience to anticipate potentially problematic areas in any commercial or asset transaction and address them proactively. When an issue cannot be anticipated, we understand the importance of resolving it efficiently and without antagonizing the relationship between parties who must continue to work together. We believe that a transaction that does not work for one party in the long run does not work for any of the parties, and strive to find the win/win in any transaction.