Hal Watson

Partner

2800 JPMorgan Chase Tower
600 Travis
Houston, Texas 77002
Phone: (713) 226-1449
Fax: (713) 229-2578
hwatson@lockelord.com

Hal Watson's practice involves the representation of energy and marine insurers and oil and gas operators and contractors in Texas, Louisiana, and elsewhere in the United States and around the world. Mr. Watson is a frequent lecturer on topics related to onshore and offshore energy risk management and insurance. He is currently serving as Secretary of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and is the chairman of the Insurance and Risk Management Subcommittee of the Offshore Industries Committee of the MLA. Mr. Watson is also a past chairman of the Energy and Maritime Law Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Education

LL.M., Yale Law School, 1977
J.D., Louisiana State University Law Center, 1974
Order of the Coif
Associate Editor, Louisiana Law Review
B.A., Louisiana State University, 1971

Bar Admissions

Texas, 1978
Louisiana, 1975

Admitted To Practice

U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Publications & Presentations

Forum Selection Clauses in Maritime Contracts, 33 LA.L.REV. 481 (1973).
Broadened Coverage Under the LHWCA, 33 LA.L.REV. 683 (1973), cited in GRANT GILMORE AND CHARLES BLACK, LAW OF ADMIRALTY (2d ed. 1975), as “an admirable review” of the 1972 amendments to the LHWCA; also cited by United States Supreme Court in Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs v. Perini North River Associates, 103 S.Ct. 634, 651 (1983); and Northeast Marine Terminal Co. v. Caputo, 97 S.Ct. 2348, 2365 (1977).
Case note on Nations v. Morris, 5 J. MAR. L. & C. 135 (1973).
1976 IMCO Limitation Convention: A Comparative View, 15 Hous.L.Rev. 249 (1978).
Applicable Law in Suits by Foreign Offshore Oil Workers, 41 LA.L.REV. 827 (1981).
Selected Problems in Transnational Maritime Litigation, 8 MARITIME LAWYER 87 (1983).
A Primer on Maritime Contracts on the River (monograph 1983).
Control-of-well Insurance: The Environment in Which It Operates and Selected Legal Problems (monograph 1984).
Course Change to Starboard: New Directions in Maritime Conflicts Resolution in the United States, NEW DIRECTIONS IN MARITIME LAW (1984).
Modern Practice Considerations in Maritime Personal Injury Litigation: Procedural Weapons for Venue Battles, 68 TUL.L.REV. 473 (1994).
Admiralty Law, 25 TEX. TECH L. REV. 439 (1994).
Admiralty Law, 26 TEX. TECH L. REV. 321 (1995).
Admiralty Law, 27 TEX. TECH L. REV. 485 (1996).
Admiralty Law, 28 TEX. TECH L. REV. 257 (1997).
Exercising Subrogation Rights Against Subcontractors Isn’t Easy, but It’s Not Impossible, 68 DEFENSE COUNSEL JOURNAL 458 (2001).

Mr. Watson has made numerous presentations to legal and industry groups, including multiple presentations to the Houston Marine Insurance Seminar, the Alvin B. Rubin Maritime Personal Injury Seminar, the University of Texas Admiralty Law Seminar, the Tulane Admiralty Law Institute, the Lillehammer Energy Claims Conference, the International Association of Defense Counsel, and the Association of Average Adjusters, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, and the Texas Bar Association.