Robert B. Fisher, Jr. Direct Dial Number: (504) 585-7049
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Mr. Fisher was born in St. Francisville, Louisiana. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University in 1966 and a Juris Doctorate degree in 1973, where he was a member of the Tulane Moot Court Board. He served as a member and founding Editor-in-Chief of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal (formerly The Maritime Lawyer). He is presently head of Chaffe McCall's admiralty and maritime section.
He has been involved in all areas of admiralty practice during his career. Major areas of concentration have included personal injury, arrests, and the handling of collision, dock damage, sinkings, strandings and salvage matters, as well as numerous cases involving charter party issues, especially "safe port" and "safe berth" problems. He has also assisted P&I clubs and vessel owners in a number of London arbitrations, working with solicitors and barristers in preparation of cases, and he has handled complex cases involving international law and damage to the marine environment. He has represented Lloyd's underwriters in personal injury and hull cases and various types of excess risks.
He has substantial experience with U.S. government administrative agency practice, which includes handling matters with the Department of Commerce (NOAA); Department of Transportation (now within the Department of Homeland Security); Department of State, Department of Agriculture, Treasury Department, U.S. Immigration Service and U.S. Customs (the latter two agencies now known collectively as "CIS" or Customs and Immigration Service, under the Homeland Security umbrella). He has handled numerous matters with the U.S. Coast Guard, including alleged violations of Coast Guard regulations, environmental issues surrounding oil and chemical spills and U.S. Coast Guard restrictions. He has also handled fines and civil penalties associated with alleged violations and appeals to the District and Commandant.
He is a member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and all U.S. District Courts in Louisiana. He is also a member of the Louisiana State and American Bar Associations, the Royal Institute of Navigation, The North American Committee of the Commercial Bar Association of London. He serves on the Salvage and Regulation of Vessel Operations, Safety, Security, and Navigation Committees of the Maritime Law Association of the United States.
He served in the United States Navy from 1966 through 1970, stationed aboard destroyer-type vessels as a deck officer and navigator. After joining the U. S. Naval Reserve, he taught a course on the Collision Regulations and became familiar with lower Mississippi River pilotage while assigned to a Naval Reserve vessel that operated out of New Orleans. While on active duty in the Navy, he sailed on vessels operating in the Atlantic, Pacific, South China Sea, Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. He has handled cases involving collisions in the English Channel, Indian Ocean, and in/near the Panama Canal, as well as the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and other inland waters of the U. S.
He is a member of the West Feliciana Port Commission, a state board that oversees one of Louisiana's newest river ports.
Mr. Fisher is a member of the Board of Editors of Shipping and Transport International magazine and is the author of numerous law review and periodical articles, as well as seminar papers on various maritime topics. He created and edited a unique Collision Case Survey, first appearing in 13 Tulane Maritime Law Journal 355 (1989), which is updated on an annual basis.