Have you ever been curious about how import-export happens across borders? Generally, it involves shipping, which happens to be the primary transportation gateway for trade all around the globe. The shipping can be divided into two forms- wet and dry shipping. Every issue that concerns shipping via sea would come under the category of wet-shipping, while dry-shipping deals with funding, infrastructure, cargo claims, and similar matters.
Unquestionably, shipping happens to be a crucial component in this trade business and a vital contributor to a country’s economy. Therefore dedicated shipping laws have been in place to ensure that things are going by the books. To deal with such legal situations and keep things secure, you need a professional maritime lawyer. However, before you set out to hire a maritime lawyer, let’s first get to know them and have a look at their primary responsibilities.
Who Is a Maritime Lawyer?
Many people are not even aware of this specialization, and others may think that a maritime lawyer deals with ‘ships’ (well, that is not wrong either). Still, it is a dedicated branch of law that deals with shipping-related cases across oceans or seas. The maritime lawyer is also known as an admiral lawyer.
Responsibilities of a Maritime Lawyer
Like any other transportation route, the sea also has its risks and challenges, like accidents, crimes, and general disagreements between the stakeholders, therefore, a dedicated law and system of accountability are required for dealing with all the matters related to transportation via sea. Maritime lawyers are responsible for all these issues.
Advising on Nautical Business Transactions
One of the primary responsibilities of a maritime lawyer is to interpret the law, regulations, and rulings that concern nautical matters for businesses and individuals. The law gurus at Houston maritime attorneys at Reich & Binstock emphasize seeking the advice of a qualified maritime lawyer instead of trying to handle issues yourself. They also use the insights and knowledge from maritime law to offer case analyses to ascertain the most likely outcome for the cases. If you are someone dealing with business transactions and matters of liability claims over open bodies of water, then seeking the advice of a maritime lawyer would be the right move.
Protection Against Lawsuits & Agencies
Maritime law is unique in its statutes, regulations, constitution, and decisions. Therefore, you should always seek the counsel of an experienced maritime lawyer because one of the primary responsibilities of a maritime lawyer is to protect their clients from governmental agencies or to file a lawsuit on behalf of a client. Your lawyer would also summarize and present your case to the judge and any governmental agency involved in sea or water activities regulations.
The responsibilities of a maritime lawyer are just as exhaustive as those of any other lawyer. They are tasked with drafting contracts or reviewing them, writing insurance agreements, or interviewing witnesses related to a case.
In short, they are experts at defending companies against personal injury lawsuits and may work for both individuals and corporations or governmental bodies.
