Derek A. Walker
Partner
Derek Walker is a Partner at Chaffe McCall, leading the firm’s International Practice Section. With extensive experience in arbitration and litigation, Derek has successfully handled a wide range of complex cases, including:
- Vessel incidents
- Cargo losses
- Oil spills
- Fires and Explosions
- International investment disputes
- Personal injury
- Complex international disputes
Derek works closely with clients in a full range of industries, including maritime, construction, oil and gas, cement, trucking, and domestic and foreign insurers. He has tried jury and judge cases throughout the U.S., including Puerto Rico, as well as before the U.S. Supreme Court, and has successfully handled numerous arbitrations. He has also investigated claims abroad and assisted with foreign counsel and litigation.
Fluent in English and Spanish, Derek’s international background and language skills have proven invaluable in handling cases across the Americas and Europe. Born in Bogotá, Colombia, and raised across South America, Derek brings a unique international perspective to his practice.
Derek attended the Lawrenceville School and earned his B.A. from Duke University and his J.D. from Tulane University. He is admitted to practice in Louisiana and Texas, various federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. An accomplished speaker, Derek has presented on maritime and international law at conferences worldwide. Derek is a member of the Louisiana, Texas, and Colorado bars and is admitted to federal courts in these states, as well as to the First, Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court.
PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
Derek was invited by the U.S. State Department to speak to Central American lawyers on alternative dispute resolution. He has also delivered presentations on various topics to esteemed organizations, including the Inter-American Bar Association, the Maritime Bar of Venezuela, the Ibero-American Institute of Maritime Law, TerraLex, and at Posidonia events in Piraeus, as well as to numerous clients.
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for
Admiralty and Maritime Law, 2024 - Selected for inclusion in Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2007 to present
- Named as a Top Lawyer in Admiralty & Maritime and International Arbitration by New Orleans Magazine, 2014-2019, 2021-2024
- Rated AV Peer Review, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest ranking by peers for ethical standards and legal ability
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
- Member of the American and Inter-American Bar Associations
- Member of Defense Research Institute
- Member of the American Trial Lawyers Association
- Member of Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel
- Member of American Waterways Operators
- Member of Offshore Marine Service Association
- Member of the Southeastern Admiralty Institute
- Member of Ibero-American Maritime Association
- Member of the American Bar Association Sections on International Law, General Practice, Corporations, Banking and Business Law, Litigation,
- The Maritime Law Association of the United States
- American Bar Association
- Marine Insurance Claims Adjusters
- The American and Inter-American Bar Associations
- Defense Research Institute
- On behalf of Lloyds underwriters, defending against claims of numerous container leasing companies whose containers were stranded throughout the world as result of the bankruptcy of CAVN (Venezuelan national shipping line), and the eventual nationwide trials under the war risk clause; Vessel striking client’s permanently moored “vessel” cement bagging facility; Steering loss resulting in allision with butane filled barge (resulting in 30 injuries and 8 deaths); Steering loss during transit of the Panama Canal resulting in damage to a canal lock/wall;
- Representation of French yacht manufacturer in multiple state products liability cases arising from hull osmotic blistering;
- Representation of Soviet fleets regarding spontaneous “in hold” combustion of cotton cargoes;
- Representation of clients post-Soviet breakup in asset search, vessel seizures, and claims;
- Representation and exoneration of client in Hurricane Katrina litigation, whose barge was accused of knocking down the flood wall which caused flooding of several New Orleans areas;
- Representation of marine terminal in oil spill litigation arising from incoming vessel tank breach upon impacting an uncharted, unknown object in Delaware Bay;
- Representation of foreign construction company whose barges broke away in hurricane Sally and were accused of causing damage throughout the community.
Key Matters
- On behalf of Lloyds underwriters, defending against claims of numerous container leasing companies whose containers were stranded throughout the world as result of the bankruptcy of CAVN (Venezuelan national shipping line), and the eventual nationwide trials under the war risk clause; Vessel striking client’s permanently moored “vessel” cement bagging facility; Steering loss resulting in allision with butane filled barge (resulting in 30 injuries and 8 deaths); Steering loss during transit of the Panama Canal resulting in damage to a canal lock/wall;
- Representation of French yacht manufacturer in multiple state products liability cases arising from hull osmotic blistering;
- Representation of Soviet fleets regarding spontaneous “in hold” combustion of cotton cargoes;
- Representation of clients post-Soviet breakup in asset search, vessel seizures, and claims;
- Representation and exoneration of client in Hurricane Katrina litigation, whose barge was accused of knocking down the flood wall which caused flooding of several New Orleans areas;
- Representation of marine terminal in oil spill litigation arising from incoming vessel tank breach upon impacting an uncharted, unknown object in Delaware Bay;
- Representation of foreign construction company whose barges broke away in hurricane Sally and were accused of causing damage throughout the community.