Often considered a niche practice area, admiralty and maritime law is, in fact, a widely impactful legal discipline that implicates a broad spectrum of constituencies, interests, and issues. As befits our deep roots and century-long presence in one of the largest port cities in the U.S., Tydings has established an admiralty and maritime practice that provides clients with sophisticated counsel and seasoned advocacy for almost every type of matter that intersects with the laws and regulations governing navigable waterways, vessels, ports, terminals, cargo, marinas, and recreational boats.
Our admiralty and maritime law practice group is led by Alex Giles, one of the premier maritime law attorneys in the nation. He has almost three decades of extensive and diverse experience handling the unique business, regulatory, and claims-related issues that arise in this distinct and complex area of the law. His deep insights and sophisticated counsel have earned Alex repeated recognition from his peers, including being named by Best Lawyers as Baltimore's "Lawyer of the Year for Admiralty & Maritime Law" in 2021.
Tydings represents a diverse array of clients whose operations and interests intersect with maritime commerce, including:
- Terminal operators and stevedores
- Tugboat owners and operators
- P&I clubs
- Shipowners and ship managers
- Vessel operators and charterers
- Marine insurers
- Cargo owners
- Shippers, freight forwarders, and NVOCCs
- Shipyards, repair facilities, and dry docks
- Marine construction and transportation businesses
- Marinas and related facilities
- Offshore wind developers, operators, and vendors
Our comprehensive, holistic counsel on maritime matters includes not only a full spectrum analysis of claims, exposures, and impacts but also strategic advocacy that leverages our substantive knowledge and diverse experience litigating in judicial and administrative forums across the country. Our attorneys regularly protect and advance clients' interests on maritime matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, various United States District Courts around the country, the Maryland Appellate Courts, the Federal Maritime Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and its Administrative Law Judges, the Office of Administrative Hearings in Maryland, and numerous state courts in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Tydings assists clients with maritime matters of virtually every description, including:
- Terminal claims and Cargo claims
- Arrest and attachment proceedings
- Limitation of Liability proceedings
- Collision and allision cases
- Marine insurance claims
- Suits involving breaches of maritime contracts and charter parties
- General Average claims
- Marine products liability claims
- Claims involving asbestos, PCBs, and other toxic substances
- Salvage claims
- Jones Act and cabotage law issues
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigations and administrative claims
- License suspension and revocation proceedings
- Marina and Recreational boating claims
- Vessel excise tax claims