Page 14 - NC Triangle Vol 6 No 4

ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME LAWYER OF THE MONTH
Walking through a marina in Wilmington, North Carolina, recently, admiralty and maritime lawyer Jason R. Harris pro- vided me with a quick tutorial on the im- portance of admiralty and maritime law
in North Carolina. ere was a boat for sale that might have secret liens that would delay the sale, he explained. He pointed to another boat whose owner had been in a dispute with a repair company. We looked at outboard motorboats, like ski boats, which he said are involved in plenty of boating accidents.
“Maritime law is born of its own separate body of law. There was a separate court and a whole separate body of law back in the days of yore in England,” ex- plained Harris.
He joined the Wilmington o ce of Cran ll Sumner and Hartzog LLP (CSH Law) earlier this year when it wanted to add an admiralty and maritime practice. e practice
On the Waterfront
BY BOB FRIEDMAN
area casts a wide net, from boating accidents to cargo and bills of lading disputes to treasure hunters to cruise-line accidents. Although now generally used interchangeably, the di erence between admiralty and maritime law has historically been that admiralty law was limited to dis- putes involving torts and contracts at sea, while maritime law includes other types of legal disputes that occur at sea and other navigable waters.
LAW AT SEA
Harris’ grandfather served on a submarine in World War II that was part of the eet that rescued George H.W. Bush a er his plane was shot down over the Pa- ci c. “My grandfather has really interesting stories about saving men at sea and about life on the submarine. I’ve always been fascinated by it and about the concept of law at sea,” said Harris.
He was planning a career in law enforcement after graduating from Auburn with a B.A. in criminal jus- tice. But a detour took him to Wake Forest University School of Law with the goal of becoming a prosecutor. “But I took a class in criminal law. I hated it and it hat- ed me,” laughed Harris. He studied maritime law while earning his Juris Doctor from Wake Forest School of Law. He then earned a Masters of Law in Ocean and Coastal Law from the University of Miami School of Law. Harris served in the Army National Guard for six years.
Harris co-founded Welch and Harris, a law rm near Jacksonville, North Carolina. Among his clients were shrimp boat owners in Sneads Ferry.
He le the practice and joined an international marine salvage, wreck removal, decommissioning, and underwa- ter services company at its headquarters in Houston. He served as its general counsel, director of legal and corpo- rate secretary. He joined CSH Law earlier this year.
COMPARATIVELY, MARITIME LAW IS
UNIQUE
Harris’ practice extends to the state’s rivers and lakes, the Intracoastal Waterway and the ocean o of North Car-
JASON R.
HARRIS
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · NORTH CAROLINA TRIANGLE. 6 NO. 4 14