James H. Rodgers

Full Profile

James (Jim) Rodgers is Senior Counsel in the New York City office. His Admiralty & Maritime practice includes defense of personal injury and wrongful death actions brought under the Jones Act and the LHWCA, vessel collisions and allisions, cargo claims including claims under COGSA, claims against marine terminals and shipyards, claims involving damages to vessels while loading and unloading, petitions brought under the Limitation of Liability Act, and claims involving yachts and recreational boating. In his maritime practice, Jim has handled cases in state and federal courts, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, Maryland, Florida, Virginia, and California. 

In addition to his Admiralty & Maritime practice, Jim handles large scale property loss matters in New York City, including utility steampipe explosions, water main breaks, building collapses, catastrophic fires, and property damage caused by demolition and excavation. Matters he has been involved with include the 2007 Con Edison steampipe explosion, the 1998 collapse of the Selwyn Theatre and office building, the 1998 Central Synagogue fire, the 1998 hoist and scaffold collapse at 4 Times Square, 7 WTC post-9/11, utility gas explosions, and numerous fires occurring at commercial and residential buildings.

Jim also has extensive experience defending suits brought by injured construction workers, as well as families of deceased workers, pursuant to the New York Scaffold Law (“NY Labor Law”). 

Jim previously served six years as Associate General Counsel at the American Bureau of Shipping (“ABS”) (1993-1999). 

Prior to entering the law, Jim served four years as a Surface Line Officer in the US Navy onboard an anti-submarine warfare frigate as well as an amphibious assault ship, attaining the rank of Lieutenant and earning the Surface Warfare Qualification. His time at sea included deployments in the Atlantic, North Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean, Black Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific, as well as transits through the Panama Canal, Kiel Canal, and the Turkish Straits. 

Jim has authored law articles for academic law journals at UCLA, UC Davis, and Suffolk Law School, as well as articles in shipping magazines covering maritime and international law. In the past, his pro bono work has included authoring legal briefs submitted to the Supreme Court of Ireland relating to Treaty Law and the Irish Constitution, preparing and submitting writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States, arguing appellate issues involving interpretation of college charters in the State of New York, and obtaining political asylum for ship stowaways.

Admissions

• New York
• New Jersey
• Supreme Court of the United States
• US District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
• US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
• US District Court for the District of New Jersey
• US Court of Appeals for the Second and Seventh Circuits

Education

• LL.M., Fordham University School of Law, 1997
• J.D., New York Law School, 1989. Journal of International and Comparative Law.
• B.S., The Citadel, 1980

Memberships

• Member, New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA)
• Chairman, NYCLA Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee (2007-2014)
• Member, NYCLA Construction Law Committee
• Proctor Member, Maritime Law Association of the United States

Experience

Publications

• “The Adoption of the Good Friday Agreement in the Republic of Ireland: Political Expediency v. The Irish Constitution,” Suffolk Transnational Law Review, Winter 1999
• “Extraterritorial Jurisdiction of U.S. Securities Laws: Application to Lloyd’s of London Membership Agreements,” UC Davis Journal of International Law & Policy, Fall 1998 issue 
• “The Continental Shelf of Ireland: The Law and Politics of Delimitation,” UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs, Spring/Summer 1998 issue 
• “Shipowners’ Duty Under The LHWCA,” Fairplay International Shipping Weekly (Law Review), April 27, 1995
• “Immunity Under U.S. Coast Guard Reports,” Fairplay International Shipping Weekly (Law Review), February 24, 1994 
• “Hidden Liabilities,” Fairplay International Shipping Weekly (Law Review), August 27, 1992