Marine Lawyer

by editor on November 14, 2011

Marine Lawyer

Marine Lawyer

Before discussing about marine lawyer let us discuss about the marine law suits.

What is a marine law?

Marine law which is also called as an admiralty law or a maritime law is a separate part of law that governs maritime offenses and questions. Marine law is a part and parcel of both domestic law that governs the maritime activities and the private international law which governs the relationships between private units that operate vessels on the seas. Marine law deals with the issues that include marine navigation, marine commerce, sailors, shipping and transportation of goods and passengers by ocean. Marine law also inculcates many land based commercial activities that are maritime in nature.

Who is a lawyer handling marine law suits?

A lawyer handling the marine law suit is the lawyer in the United States Marine Corps who provide the legal backbone of the service branch and serve in the capacity ranging from defense lawyer and prosecutor in military court to law advisor to the commandant of the Marine Corps.

Skills required by the lawyer handling the marine law suits

  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits must have good ability in generating  and carrying out the defenses for the clients
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits must be assertive so that they can put forward the appropriate points before the court of law in order to win the case
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits must have good analytical bend of mind so that they can put the reports of cases of their clients in the court of law in  a very organized, systematic  and a correct way
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits must have ability to put their theories into meaningful  practice
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits must have good knowledge of maritime federal laws and merchant marine acts
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits must have good knowledge of maritime law for personal injury also known as Jones law which is a part of maritime commercial law

Educational requirements of the lawyer handling the marine law suits

  • Those lawyers who want to do practice  marine law in the court of law are required to complete a four year bachelor degree in any discipline from a government recognized school or university plus a three year  law degree from an accredited law institute
  • One must definitely  to clear the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) with a minimum score in order to get admission to  a law institute  that is accredited by the American Bar Association
  • It is mandatory  for a law graduate to clear the state bar written examination as well as the  written ethics examination to get a permission to practice marine law suits in the law court of the respective state
  • Many law schools require their undergraduate students to complete legal clerkships before obtaining their law degrees. This  helps the law degree owners to gain practical experience and raise their chances of getting employment after completion of their law graduation
  • After getting admitted as a lawyer to the state bar, the lawyer handling the marine law suits  must clear  the required number of continuing legal education (CLE) courses in order to remain well-versed with the constant changes  taking  place in the field of marine laws
  • To practice marine law in the court of law requires a separate license
  • It adds to the advantage of  the lawyer when he/she completes the master degree in marine law from a recognized institute or college

Job responsibilities of the lawyer handling the marine law suits

  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits must represent the clients in the court of law
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits must be able to defend the clients accused of violations
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits provides the legal advice to their clients over the issues like ship personnel, matters of cargo or trade packages, and accidents or collisions
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits draft the legal documents that includes drafting of the charter parties, bills of sale for vessels and applications for registry of vessels under the flags of different countries
  • Lawyers handling the marine law suits review the statutes, rules and regulations and the previous court decisions

Significance of the lawyer handling the marine law suits

Now-a-days there is rise in accidental injuries caused to the persons/passengers who travel on the vessels in the high oceans. So it was necessity of the hour that the law governing the matters of compensation to be paid to the workers (meeting with accidents) not only on the vessels in the high oceans but also to the people working in docks and shipyards should be enacted. Also in both these accidental injuries caused to the persons on vessels in oceans as well as the persons in shipyards and docks the victims under the marine laws could not sue their employers for emotional loss or pain. So in order to handle cases of the accidental injuries of the victims working on the vessels in oceans there was an increased subsistence in the demand of the lawyers handling the marine law suits.

Also there is rise in the cases of piracy on the international line of borders of oceans separating different countries from each other. Pirates from hostile countries attack the ships and take the people as hostages demanding some ransom amount in return of the hostages or demand for release of their arrested colleagues in return for releasing the hostages held by them. If a worker of a certain dock firm or a marine firm is taken as hostage or detained by the pirates then the firm is held responsible for the act of piracy committed by the pirates and can be sued by the family of the workers on the basis of not providing enough security and protection to its employee. In order to deal with such cases of personal injury caused due to piracy to the employee of a firm, the appropriate guidance and assistance from the lawyer dealing with marine law suits is required in order to seek the exact amount for the compensation for the employee.

So the demand for the lawyers handling the marine law suits has grown to a very large extent today.

Thus the career as a marine lawyer is an ever growing career with a bright future.

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