Find the Best Maritime Law Jobs in 2023

Laws exist pretty much anywhere in the world, including all the bodies of water. Numerous companies operate on seas and oceans - they trade, transport goods and people, or manage oil rigs. Therefore, there needed to be a law of the sea, most commonly called maritime law or admiralty law. Naturally, various maritime law jobs come with it, as someone has to interpret these laws. 

This is where a special kind of lawyer enters the scene - the maritime lawyer. In many ways, they are an attorney like any other. They finished law school, got their degrees, and know countless laws by heart. However, one key difference that separates them from the rest is that they specialized in the marine industry’s side of things. While they’re not seafarers themselves, they’re more than qualified for handling any legal matters affecting maritime companies and individual professionals. On top of that, it’s quite a nice career choice money-wise, harboring some of the highest paying jobs in this line of work.

About Maritime Law Jobs

Maritime lawyers are focused on laws pertaining to all kinds of sea- and ocean-related activities. They are specialist lawyers, just like doctors can specialize in surgery or orthopedics. A maritime lawyer will, therefore, primarily represent clients whose businesses are directly related to oceans, seas, and other bodies of water. Of course, they can also take cases requiring their expertise even if a client’s business isn’t exclusively bound to maritime activities.

Maritime law covers a vast spectrum of legal issues and is, in fact, one of the oldest laws in existence. A maritime law attorney can represent a client in a variety of cases in connection with commerce, sea travel, working conditions on boats, environmental issues, injuries, and more. Not every lawyer is qualified - one needs to go through special training and get certified before applying for these kinds of jobs.

What Do Maritime Lawyers Do?

Duties

This kind of job, at least at surface level, doesn’t differ very much from any other kind of legal career. A maritime lawyer can work for the government, international agencies, or run their own private practice if they so desire. They can represent their clients and argue cases in court, participate in negotiations, or sign important documents. Maritime lawyer jobs are incredibly versatile, as long as the subject matter involves legal issues in water-related cases.

Types

While there aren’t many distinct types of maritime law careers, an attorney who decides to pursue this area of legal practice can still specialize further within admiralty law. For example, shipping law is a whole set of regulations an attorney needs to know if they wish to take up cases dealing with the transportation of goods and passengers. Depending on whether the issue concerns the voyage itself or parts of the contract related to the beginning or end of the voyage, things can get more complex.

International and local laws also slightly differ. Maritime law jobs aren’t exactly the same when you're practicing international law and when you’re representing only those clients who operate within a single country or state. That being said, your lawyer studies should cover all possible cases since many regulations can be applied to both private and public ones.

Work Environment

You’ve probably already guessed it, but it’s still worth noting that even maritime lawyers work from an office. Like with any other attorney job, your office can be a part of your client’s headquarters, a large law firm, or a private practice if you prefer to be your own boss. As for the working time, maritime law firms usually work within the standard nine-to-five, with occasional overtime or work over weekends if a case requires so. Of course, if you run your own law firm, you’ll dictate your own hours, but it’s still recommended to stay within the most commonly established time frame.

If you like to travel, there’s a high chance you might be required to leave your office and board ships while practicing admiralty law. This, however, greatly depends on your clients’ cases; for the most part, you can expect to be office-bound.

Whether you’re at the desk or sea-bound, all jobs in maritime law will require you to follow a particular dress code.

Work Schedules

As we’ve previously mentioned, you’ll be expected to work Monday-Friday, eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. This isn’t set in stone, though, as particularly complicated cases and extraordinary situations will require you to work in your off-hours. It’s best to suppose that your workweek can last anywhere between 40 and 60 hours.

Beginner lawyers, even interns, have it harder, too. Most law firms expect a lot from the young guns, often pushing them into working overtime for days on end. Practicing law isn’t for everyone and, if you’re not ready to dedicate a lot of time to it, maritime attorney jobs might not be for you. The good news is that, with experience, you’ll not only become better and more productive, but your workload can also lessen. As you progress, you’ll most likely have a case or two assigned to you instead of being swamped by many cases at once.

There practically aren’t any months off for lawyers practicing maritime law. Ships will sail anytime, anywhere, as long as the weather conditions allow it. And even when your clients aren't sending out any vessels, they’ll still require legal help with their documents, business deals, and other legal matters. This is a good thing, though. Duties regarding maritime law enforcement jobs and other branches of this law will most likely spread out throughout the year instead of cramming a never-ending pile of work into a short period. This approach is more manageable than, say, working as a tax lawyer during tax season.

How to Become a Maritime Lawyer

The education and career path for a maritime lawyer is a bit longer than for some other types of lawyers. When a lawyer finishes law school, they can’t just start practicing maritime law straight out the gate. There’s some more education required, so we’ll cover the steps law students need to take if they’re to become maritime lawyers.

Most maritime law jobs in the USA result in lucrative careers, so it’s natural that the requirements are steep. This job can get quite stressful, especially during long courtroom sessions, but also while you’re still climbing the corporate ladder and gathering experience. In short, expectations are high, but so is the reward. Below, we’ve covered in more detail this job’s requirements.

Education

Finally, let’s look at how one becomes an attorney practicing maritime law. The start of this journey doesn’t differ much from the education other lawyers need to go through. Still, its final stages require specialization to learn the specific skills necessary to become a lawyer in this field of work.

The first step toward a maritime law degree is getting into college - you’ll need to complete your bachelor’s degree first. Although your primary field of study can be whatever you like, it helps if it’s something related to economics or marine studies, as that’ll be a stronger stepping stone for the rest of your career path. The undergraduate studies usually take four years.

With a diploma in your hand, you should head to a law school to begin your specialization. An LSAT test is a requirement, with higher scores securing you a place in more elite schools along with the grades from your previous studies. 

Once in law school, your goal should be to sign up for as many maritime law courses as possible. These include, but are not limited to, marine insurance, marine pollution, international law, and employee compensation. It’s not an easy degree to obtain, nor is it a short study. On average, a law school takes three years to complete.

The final step is licensure. Once you’ve out of law school as a Juris Doctor, you’ll need to pass the bar exam in your state before you can begin practicing maritime law. This is a particularly challenging exam requiring thorough preparation. Once you pass it, though, you can apply for a state license and become a maritime lawyer.

Maritime Lawyer Salary

Compared to colleagues in other fields of law, it may seem as if maritime lawyers aren’t making nearly as much money. Like with any attorney job, your earnings depend on many factors, including your level of education, experience, even your place of residence.

The national average for maritime layers is $75,000, which is approximately $36 an hour. Granted, this is just the median. Salaries vary greatly, from $19,000 to $151,000 a year, with the majority falling in the $90,000-$100,000 range. 

Maritime attorney jobs are not paid the same across the US. For example, a lawyer in Baltimore can expect to earn $98,000 while their colleagues in Los Angeles can earn up to $164,000 a year. Aside from LA, Washington DC is another good location for lawyers practicing maritime law. Lawyers in the capital earn $160,000 on average. So, these are the two cities where you should be trying to get your law practice going if you’re aiming for a higher salary.

Maritime Lawyer Job Outlook

Even in the 21st century, we’re using oceans and seas to travel and transport all kinds of goods, and there’s always some legal work involved. Incidents like the infamous Ever Given container blocking the Suez Canal or the disaster of Costa Concordia all required legal help with solving many disputes that arose in the aftermath. 

Therefore, a maritime lawyer will pretty much always have their hands full with various legal cases. Nowadays, it’s not unusual for shipping companies to house their own legal department, opening many opportunities for maritime law internships for freshly graduated lawyers. There are also law firms that focus on the law of the sea in particular. In short, as long as people are traveling, working, or trading across bodies of water, there will be work for maritime attorneys.

Job Prospects

There’s one thing to keep in mind. You’re not the only fish in this pond called legal business. With thousands of licenses issued each year to attorneys eager to prove their worth, the competition for maritime attorney jobs is stronger than ever.

The good thing is that there are always new job openings available. Many branches of industry are involved in the maritime business one way or another, and at one point, they’ll require legal advice from an attorney specialized in admiralty law. Even better, they might need to hire a lawyer to permanently fill the position of their advisor for all seafaring matters.

Maritime law practice is a flexible one, meaning that once you get your degree, you can expect many different maritime law career prospects to come your way, along with various ways to deepen your knowledge of maritime law.

Apart from working as a legal counsel, there’s always an option to take up a law professor job and pass on your knowledge to new generations. It’s a noble profession, and law schools are always on the lookout for teachers.