Board certified in civil appellate law, Hal Watson has experience in trials and appeals before Texas state courts and federal circuit courts concerning insurance, tort, and general commercial disputes. He concentrates on counseling marine, energy, casualty, and property insurers on coverage matters and other insurance-related issues. Mr. Watson has successfully defended cases involving wreck removal, well control, and other types of insurance claims. He represented the underwriters at risk in the 1991 West Venture blowout off the coast of Nova Scotia, at the time the largest offshore blowout in history.
Education
- LL.M., Yale Law School, 1977
- J.D., Louisiana State University Law Center, 1974
Order of the Coif
Associate Editor, Louisiana Law Review - B.A., Louisiana State University, 1971
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 1978
- Louisiana, 1975
Admitted To Practice
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Professional History
Partner the law firm of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP
Former associate, Vinson & Elkins
Former Law Clerk to Hon. Alvin B. Rubin, U.S. District Court,
Eastern Division of Louisiana
Adjunct Lecturer, Loyola University, New Orleans, 1976
Professional Affiliations
Member, Maritime Law Association of the U.S.
(Chairman, Maritime Legislation Committee, 1998 – present)
Member, Association of Average Adjusters of the United States
Member, International Association of Defense Counsel
(Chairman, Maritime and Energy Law Committee)
Industry Advisor to United States Coast Guard
and State Department Delegation to International Maritime Organization
Member, U.S. delegation to Comite Maritime International, 1997
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America - Maritime Law
Community Leadership
Former President, Prisoner Services Committee
of Houston Metropolitan Ministries
Former Director, Annunciation of Orthodox School
Former Vestryman, Christ Church Cathedral
Director, Episcopal Foundation of Texas