Donna Knowles

504.556.4134

Notable Experience

Brett is a key member of the firm’s admiralty law team, helping brown-water and blue-water operators and others with maritime claims and policy-holder insurance litigation.  As Brett describes it, “I regularly defend or prosecute claims -­ whether as lead counsel or as a member of a team -­ involving vessel, platform, shipyard or port accidents with multiple parties and complex intersections of state and federal law.”

“I’m also often on teams investigating maritime accidents.  Thanks to my naval experience, I know how to locate, use and question experts as well as read and interpret radar and other technical data myself.”

Brett’s technical expertise came into play, for example, in his work on the BP spill and for post-Katrina damage claims.

Involvement

  • Loyola Law School in New Orleans - Adjunct Professor, Maritime law, 2008-Present
  • New Orleans, Louisiana State and American Bar Associations - Member

Recognition

  • New Orleans Magazine's List of "Top Lawyers," 2019
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Admiralty and Maritime Law, 2020-2026
  • U.S. Navy - Lieutenant, 1986-1993
  • U.S. Navy Reserve, Captain, 1994-Present

 

 

Credentials

Education

  • Tulane University Law School (J.D., summa cum laude, 1996)
    • Order of the Coif
    • Tulane Law Review, Managing Editor, 1995-1996
    • Civil Law Studies Award
  • U.S. Naval Academy (B.S., Ocean Engineering, 1986)

Bar Admissions

  • Louisiana, 1996

Clerkships

  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Charles Schwartz, Jr., Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, 1996-1997

Presentations

  • New Orleans Bar Association’s Marine Insurance and Related Topics CLE, September 8, 2023
  • “2021 Federal Offshore Update,” Liskow & Lewis Webinar, February 10, 2021

Publications

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