Fowler White is pleased to announce that after a rigorous application and examination process, The Florida Bar has recognized shareholder Victor J. Pelaez as a Board-Certified Specialist in Admiralty and Maritime Law.
Board certification is The Florida Bar’s highest evaluation of an attorney’s competency, experience, and professionalism in the areas of law approved for specialization. The Florida Bar maintains high standards lawyers must meet before seeking certification in one or more of the 27 areas of law approved by the Florida Supreme Court for board certification. Only 7% of the lawyers eligible to practice law in Florida have achieved board certification.
Pelaez, a Shareholder in the Firm’s Maritime, Insurance and Commercial Litigation Practice Groups, has extensive experience defending cruise lines in numerous high-exposure lawsuits and private arbitrations involving catastrophic personal injuries, wrongful death claims, overboard incidents, medical malpractice claims, negligent security and overservice of alcohol claims, and crewmember claims. In addition, he represents other marine industry clients in lawsuits involving business disputes, contract claims, property damage claims, and passenger and crew personal injury claims. He handles on-site, post-incident, casualty investigations for his cruise line and marine clients, regularly in conjunction with concurrent, ongoing investigations by the U.S. Coast Guard and other state and federal agencies.