In Camera - Seagoing experience

Matthew Eisele of Houston-based Vinson & Elkins explains to Suzanne Starbuck why seagoing experience is one of a maritime lawyer's greatest assets

THERE are many reasons why someone would choose a career as a maritime lawyer. For some, there is a family connection. For others, it seemed like the best thing to do at the time and they've never looked back. For Matt Eisele it was a combination of the two. His love of all things maritime was nurtured during childhood visits to his grandparents, who lived a stone's throw away from the US Merchant Marine Academy.

It was, ironically, this very academy that launched Matt's maritime career years later and from which he graduated in 1986. Matt went on to sail on tankers, break-bulk, and container vessels for a variety of companies on trade routes that took him to more than forty countries. But realising that having a home life actually meant coming home, he eventually came ashore to pursue his career in maritime law.

Spurred on by his father's career as a New York lawyer, albeit not in the maritime field, Matt's next step was Tulane Law School where, incidentally, he was symposium editor of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal. Still drawn to the sea, Matt spent his time off, while at law school, sailing on board vessels of the Delaware River and Bay Authority.

But the early days of Matt's maritime law career didn't necessarily all go to plan. Having clerked with the Honorable John M Duhe Jr on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and been admitted to the California Bar, Matt was all ready to settle down in San Francisco. But Vinson & Elkins, Houston's biggest law firm, stepped in with a job offer and he upped sticks to Texas.

Just over ten years later, Matt is still with Vinson & Elkins and guiding forward the firm's active admiralty practice with clients ranging from large oil and gas corporations to fledgling shipping companies. Over the years, he has accrued extensive experience in both litigation and transactional work and is now heavily involved in a wide range of issues including collisions, pollution, personal injury, vessel seizures, cargo loss and damage, insurance coverage, vessel documentation and regulatory compliance issues.

But it is his time at sea, he believes, that gives him his greatest advantage. "When it comes to vessel investigations, an understanding of shipboard life not only gives you a better appreciation of the facts, it also helps you decipher much more effectively and efficiently exactly what happened and why," says Matt.

In fact, an appreciation of life at sea is just one of the characteristics Vinson & Elkins looks for in its potential recruits. But finding the right staff is proving increasingly difficult. "Vinson & Elkins has adopted a pin-point attack when it comes to recruitment," says Matt. "We are very selective about who we take on but, with a limited pool of candidates, we are having to search nationwide for them rather than just locally. A good maritime lawyer will be truly self-contained, with a good understanding of the maritime environment and how the shipping industry operates. He or she will be able to map out the whole voyage for their client."

But having attracted the right people, how do you go about keeping them? For Matt, the most enjoyable part of working in maritime law is the people - or rather the characters - you come across. "From hardened seaman to adventurers and mavericks, the daily interaction with people from all areas of the industry makes each and every case interesting," he says.

Having exposure to a wide range of issues is also important. Vinson & Elkins prides itself on offering expertise across the board when it comes to admiralty work. "Our intention has always been to grow slowly and carefully, keeping a small group of experienced maritime attorneys who can handle a full spectrum of issues for clients," says Matt. This approach also pays dividends when it comes to attracting new business.

The maritime law community in Houston is characterised by two types of law firms. The larger firms, like Vinson & Elkins, handle the large-scale complex work, while the small-scale work tends to go to the small firms. Mergers have been taking place but primarily among the smaller firms in a bid to pool their expertise and help maintain the volume of work they handle. With two clear markets, word of mouth serves as the most effective marketing strategy. "Word gets round pretty quick here," says Matt.

But that doesn't mean you can rest on your laurels. Vinson & Elkins handles a large number of cases in the offshore market, and keeping on top of changing legislation in this area is a full-time job. "With activity significantly increasing in the Gulf, there is an ever-growing need to advise clients on specific areas such as Jones Act compliance and fleet operations," says Matt.

The use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is also developing but, as Matt points out, not always in the right direction. "Although ADR does help keep costs down and is certainly a useful tool for avoiding trial, there have been cases of it being misused," he says. With some parties using the likes of mediation to find out more about their opponent in case the dispute eventually goes to trial, ADR is generating some mixed reactions.

"It would be more efficient if it was used earlier, rather than in the later stages in a case, when parties use it almost as a last resort," says Matt. And that's not all he'd like to change. "In an ideal world, maritime cases would not be able to be appealed to the Supreme Court, which too often misses the boat when it comes to maritime issues," he adds.

Matt's days as a professional mariner may be over, but he still enjoys sailing in his spare time. In fact, it is the practical hands-on side of life at sea that Matt misses most, which might explain why, if he hadn't chosen a career in maritime law, he would like to have been a marine salvor. "Salvage requires ingenuity, patience and very careful planning," he says. Not unlike a maritime lawyer then?

When he's not cruising the local waters, Matt's searching for his golf balls or cooking up a storm. In fact, he was recently beaten into fourth place in the local Mariner's Chilli Cook-Off. "The person who beat me made a vegetarian chilli. You can't have vegetarian chilli," says Matt, defiantly. This might be a matter for the judges. Mediation anyone?