Cruise Law News : Maritime Lawyer & Attorney : James M. Walker : Walker & O'Neill Law Firm : Admiralty Law, Cruise Ship Accidents & Injuries

Jim Walker practices maritime personal injury law.  Jim has been involved in maritime litigation since 1983.  Based in Miami, Florida, Jim is one of the most widely respected maritime lawyers in the U.S. He represents passengers and crew members injured or assaulted on cruise ships around the world.

In the last three months, Jim has appeared on ABC's 20/20 special on the Costa Concordia disaster.  He appeared on Australia's Dateline program "Lost at Sea" about passengers and crew members disappearing from cruise ships. This month, Jim was featured on PBS's documentary "Diasasters at Sea: Why Ships Sink" which looked at cruise disasters from the Titanic's sinking in 1912 to the current date. 

Jim attended Duke University and graduated cum laude in 1980.  He attended Tulane University School of Law, graduating in 1983 after taking Tulane’s internationally renowned admiralty curriculum.

Jim has experience regarding issues of cruise ship crime and sexual assault.  Over the past ten years, he has represented over 500 clients including over 75 individuals who have been victimized on cruise ships, cruise excursions and ports of call.  Six of Jim’s clients have testified before the United States Congress regarding cruise ship safety.  Jim has handled the following cases in the past ten years: 

• The case of Laurie Dishman, sexually assaulted on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas. Her case resulted in changes to the cruise industry and the introduction of the Cruise Ship Safety and Security Act of 2009.  
• The “Missing Honeymooner Case” involving the disappearance of George Smith IV of Greenwich Connecticut from Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship. Jim represented Mr. Smith’s widow, Jennifer Hagel.
• Over 75 sexual assault cases against women and children on cruise ships, resulting in many million and multi-million dollars settlements.  
• The 2006 Star Princess fire disaster.  The cruise ship fire resulted in one hundred cabins being destroyed and the death of one passenger, Richard Liffridge.  Jim represented Mr. Liffridge’s family in litigation against Princess Cruises in California.
• Numerous cases involving serious injury and death of passengers and crew members aboard Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess and Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

Jim is married to Lisa O’Neill who he met while they were undergraduates in college thirty years ago. Jim and Lisa are also law partners.

Lisa is also a Duke cum laude graduate, and attended the University of Florida School of Law in Gainesville, Florida.  She served on Law Review as the Senior Articles Editor, won the prestigious Gertrude Brick Award, and graduated cum laude. Jim and Lisa work on all cases together.

In 1999, the firm created the web site CruiseLaw.com as an information resource for passengers and crew members worldwide.   Here is what some publications are saying about Jim Walker: 

"Top Maritime Lawyer" - ABA Journal.

"Top Cruise Lawyer" - USA Today.

"Prominent Private Practice Maritime Attorney" - Fox News.

"Prominent Cruise Plaintiff Attorney" - Law.com (America Law Media).

Perpetual Pain-In-The-Cruise-Lines-Neck Jim Walker - Gadling.

Jim is the author of Cruise Law News - described as a "Hard-Hitting Blog" by  Miami's Daily Business Review. 

Professional Associations

• Admiralty Law Committee of the Florida Bar (former member)
• American Association for Justice, Admiralty Law Section
• Florida Admiralty Trial Lawyers Association
• Maritime Law Association of the United States
• Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• Southeast Admiralty Law Institute

Education

• Kent School, Kent Connecticut 1976
• Duke University, Durham North Carolina 1980
• Tulane School of Law, New Orleans Louisiana 1983

Bar Admissions

• Florida Bar Association
• Louisiana Bar Association (not active) 
• United States District Courts, Eastern District of Louisiana and Southern District of Florida

Media, Television, Radio, Magazines and Newspapers

Jim and his clients have been featured over a hundred times on television, cable news and radio shows, as well as in documentaries, newspapers and magazine articles.

ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, FOXNews, DATELINE, 48 HOURS, 20/20, Larry King Live, A & E Investigative Reports, Hannity & Colmes, Greta Van Sustern, Nancy Grace, Inside Edition, Julie Banderas, Big Story Weekend, CourtTV, Catherine Crier, Montel Williams, Joe Scarborough, Rita Cosby, Mike & Juliet, Geraldo Rivera, Nancy Bloom, Dan Abrams, UK’s BBC-Radio 4, Heartland w/John Kasich, E! Entertainment, TruTV, Canada’s CATV-5, Good Morning America, TIME Magazine, National Law Journal, RADAR Magazine, Lawyer’s Weekly USA, Miami Herald, American Law Media, Tradewinds, Fort Lauderdale’s Sun-Sentinel, Miami Business Review, LA Times, NY Times, Salt Lake Tribune, Florida Today, Daytona Beach Journal, Sacramento Bee, Washington Post, Greenwich Times, Greenwich Citizen, Greenwich Post, San Francisco Chronicle, U.K.'s Telegraph, St. Petersburg Times, Miami’s New Times, U.K. Mirror, London’s Guardian, Edmonton Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Bahamas Journal, Italy's "Chi l'ha Visto?" television show, Germany's Wunderwelt Wisen, CruiseCritic, South Florida Business Journal, Open Secrets organization, Queerty, Baltimore Sun, Bahamas Tribune, National Public Radio (NPR), USA Today, Gadling, FOX Business, Slate Magazine, ABA Journal, Australia's The Age, Attorney at Law Magazine, Huffington Post, U.K.'s Daily Mail, BBC, Freeport (Bahamas) News, Haaretz, Trip Advisor, Wikipedia, Palm Beach Post, India Times, E Turbo News, Global Travel News, Comunidade News (Brazil), Canada's CTV, OutFront with CNN's Erin Burnett, Slate, The Daily, London's Financial Times, Newsweek Magazine, Newsweek's The Daily Beast Blog, Fund Web, Reuters, Consumer Affairs, Australia's Herald Sun, Canada's NewsTalk 1010 Radio, Houston Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Tampa Bay Business Journal, and the Associated Press have all covered Jim’s cases and his client's causes. 

Watch Jim on ABC's 20/20 program in January 2012 about the Costa Concordia disaster:
  

Watch Jim on Australia's Dateline program "Lost at Seas" in March 2012 about cruise ship disappearances: 

Watch Why Ships Sink on PBS.