PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Helsell Fetterman LLP - Seattle, Washington
1988 - present; Partner since 1995.
Helsell Fetterman LLP is a highly respected, 108-year-old law firm
employing 35 attorneys, including 11 partners, and 45 staff members.
For more about Helsell Fetterman LLP, please see www.helsell.com.
Mr. Collins has served as
the law firm’s Managing Partner since 2001.
Mr. Collins practices admiralty
and maritime litigation in federal and state courts. He focuses on
the following areas of practice:
Shipwrecks:
Substantial expertise representing and advising salvors of long-lost
shipwrecks and other underwater objects.
- Successfully secured possessory and recovery rights
for a salvor to the wrecks of the S.S. ADMIRAL SAMPSON, a 280-foot
passenger vessel that sank in Puget Sound in 1914, and the M/V COASTER,
a cargo ship carrying gold ore that sank in Puget Sound in 1938.
- Frequently presents on shipwreck law, including at
UnderSea Explorations trade shows in Portland, Oregon in 1999 and San
Diego, California in 2000.
Maritime Employment Law:
Extensive experience representing commercial fishermen on claims for
unpaid wages, violation of federal and state wage statutes, and race
and national origin discrimination.
- Obtained a $5.3 million judgment after a two-week
jury trial on behalf of 12 crab fishermen whose wages were willfully
withheld.
- Successfully represented 14 stranded Russian
fishermen seeking long-overdue wages, additional damages and plane
tickets home; assisted in coordinating community support for these
fishermen in need of food, blankets and warm clothing.
- Successfully prosecuted many class actions on behalf
of entire crews of large Bering Sea factory trawlers against their
employers for wages and related damages.
- Successfully prosecuted discrimination claims on
behalf of factory trawler crewmembers, including the representation of
83 crewmembers claiming their employer gave preferential treatment to
Japanese crewmembers, and the representation of 18 Vietnamese
processors claiming hostile treatment on the basis of race and national
origin.
Maritime Injury and
Death: Substantial experience representing seamen and passengers
injured or killed at sea.
Maritime Liens, Vessel
Arrests and Bankruptcy: Extensive experience in enforcing and
foreclosing maritime liens and ship mortgages on behalf of vessel
suppliers and lenders.
- Obtained U.S. Marshal's maritime arrest of many
vessels and intervened in many other vessel arrest actions to enforce
and foreclose on lien rights.
- Counsel for class of over 200 factory trawler
crewmembers pursuing unpaid wages from employer in bankruptcy, where
the Ninth Circuit established its rule permitting class proofs of claim
in bankruptcy, In re Birting Fisheries, Inc., 178 B.R. 849 (W.D. Wash.
1995), aff’d 92 F.3d 939 (9th Cir. 1996).
- Frequently presents on the topic of maritime liens
and vessel foreclosure to marine credit and trade groups.
Professor William T. Burke - Seattle, Washington
University of Washington School of Law
1987 - 1988
Student research assistant
to leading scholar and commentator on international law of the sea in
the preparation of a book on the legislative history, sources and
commentary on the fisheries provisions (articles 55 through 73) of the
Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
EDUCATION
University of Washington School of Law, Seattle,
Washington. J.D. awarded 1988.
Union College, Schenectady, New York. B.A. in
Political Science awarded 1985.
Williams College - Mystic Seaport Program in American
Studies, Mystic, CT. Fall 1983.
BAR ADMISSIONS
Washington State Bar Association, Bar No. 18399,
1988; United States District Court for the Western District of
Washington, 1989; United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Washington, 1990; United States Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit.
Admitted Pro Hac Vice: United States District Court
for the District of Alaska; United States District Court for the
District of Oregon.
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Emerging Trends in Shipwreck Law, UnderSea
Explorations 2000 tradeshow in San Diego, California, June 26, 2000.
An Overview of the Law of Long-Lost Shipwrecks,
UnderSea Explorations 1999 trade show in Portland, Oregon, June 9,
1999; http://www.nwrain.com/~newtsuit/legal/lllsr/llls00.htm.
Maritime Liens, Port of Seattle’s maritime law and
insurance seminars, 1993 - 1996.
Limitations on Federal Jurisdiction, WSBA CLE, Why
Choose Federal Court?, December 17, 1993.
Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987: Managing Historical
Shipwrecks in the United States, 17 Coastal Management 309
(1989).
MEMBERSHIPS
Legal: Maritime Law Association of the United
States, American Bar Association, Washington State Bar Association,
King County Bar Association, Federal Bar Association of the Western
District of Washington, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association.
Non-Legal: Professional Shipwreck Explorers
Association (PROSEA), Propeller Club for the Port of Seattle, Puget
Sound Maritime Historical Society, Columbia River Maritime Museum.
COMMUNITY AND BAR SERVICE
| World Association for Children and Parents
(WACAP) |
Seattle, Washington |
WACAP is an international, nonprofit adoption and child assistance
agency founded in 1976. For more about WACAP, please see www.wacap.org.
Member (Volunteer), Board
of Directors, 1997 - Present
President, July 2002 -
Present; Vice President, July 2001 - June 2002; Treasurer, July
1999 - June 2001; Chair, Fund Development Committee, March 1999 - June
2001; Member, Legal Committee, March 1997 - Present.
| The Northwest Justice Project |
Seattle, Washington |
The Northwest Justice Project (NJP) is a federally funded, nonprofit
agency that annually provides free civil legal services from nine
offices throughout the state of Washington to more than 18,000
low-income people. For more about NJP, please see www.nwjustice.org.
Member (Volunteer), Board
of Directors, 1997 - present
- Appointed by the Board of Governors of the Washington
State Bar Association to a one-year term in 1997, reappointed to a
three-year term beginning 1998, and reappointed to a final three-year
term beginning 2001.
- Served as President in 2000, Vice
President in 1998 and 1999, and Chair of the Human Resources
Committee from 1997 through 1999.
| Downtown Seattle Neighborhood Legal Clinic |
Seattle, Washington |
The Downtown Seattle Legal Clinic annually provides free legal advice
and referral from volunteer attorneys to over 500 low-income persons.
Clinic Coordinator
(Volunteer), March 1995 - December 2001; Attorney (Volunteer),
1989 - present
| Federal Bar Association of the Western
District of Washington |
Seattle, Washington |
The Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington is an
all-volunteer association of over 1,500 federal court judges and
attorneys and 14 active committees.
Treasurer (Volunteer),
2001 - 2002; Chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee, 1999
- 2000; Member, Nominations Committee, 2003.
| American Bar Association - Young Lawyers
Division, Admiralty Law Section |
Executive Committee
Member, 1991 - 1995; Ninth Circuit Editor, Sextant (Section
Newsletter), 1991 - 1995.
| Argonaut Society |
Seattle, Washington |
Argonaut Society was nonprofit maritime historical and archaeological
society whose mission was to promote the exploration, preservation and
education of underwater maritime history in the Pacific Northwest.
Member (Volunteer), Board
of Directors, 1989 - 1993
PERSONAL
Mr. Collins’s personal interests include scuba diving and maritime
history.
|
|
