Practice Summary

Mr. Gibson began practicing maritime law in San Francisco in 1971. He is one of the leading maritime and litigation attorneys on the West Coast, having tried over 40 cases to judgment/verdict and having handled numerous appeals. He specializes in maritime casualty and insurance litigation, focusing on subrogation, charter parties, tug & tow, salvage, general average and complex marine insurance issues arising out of cargo, hull, P&I, marina liability and excess policies, including defense of bad faith actions.

Mr. Gibson is a recognized expert in cargo transportation matters including handling cargo loss and damage claims arising out of international ocean, air and domestic transit. Cargo insurers frequently consult him regarding the effect of proposed policy language changes. He also advises shippers regarding contracts entered into with carriers and has developed a comprehensive cargo loss/damage recovery program for a high volume international shipper of goods.

Mr. Gibson regularly advises tug and tow owners in contractual matters including preparing charter parties, towage agreements and marine service agreements. He has successfully arbitrated claims on behalf of clients arising out of such agreements.

Mr. Gibson is a member of the Northern District of California's panel of Early Neutral Evaluators for maritime cases. In recent years, litigants in maritime and transportation cases have frequently called on Mr. Gibson to privately mediate their disputes.

Teaching

Mr. Gibson is an adjunct professor of law at the University of San Francisco School of Law where he teaches Introduction to Maritime Law. He is on the Board of Advisors to the University of San Francisco Maritime Law Journal and is Chairman of the Education Committee of the Association of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco. At the invitation of the Chinese government, he gave a series of lectures on U.S. COGSA and the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act at the Shanghai Maritime Institute in Shanghai. He was a Speaker/Panelist at the prestigious Admiralty Law Institute program on Tug & Tow Issues at Tulane University in 1995.

Publications

The Development of Unreasonable Deviation Under U.S. COGSA, University of San Francisco Maritime Law Journal, Summer 1991 (lead article).

Sky Reefer Muddies the COGSA Waters, University of San Francisco Maritime Law Journal, Fall 1996 (lead article).

Awards

Named as one of Northern California's Transportation & Maritime Super Lawyers by Law & Politics Magazine and San Francisco Magazine for the years 2004, 05, 06 & 07. The honor is awarded to those lawyers who are among top five percent of Northern California attorneys based on input by their peers and review by a Blue Ribbon panel. Named by Best Lawyers as one of the best lawyers in America in the maritime law fields of cargo and marine insurance in 2006 and 07. Bay Area Lawyer Magazine, in its May/June '06 issue, named Gibson to its list of Top Lawyers in the Bay Area in the field of litigation.

Educational Background

Boalt Hall School of Law, U.C. Berkeley, J.D. (1970)
Stanford University, B.A. History (1967)