Mark J. Spansel

Mr. Spansel is copresenting Workshop W12, "Understanding Maritime Risks and Exposures," on Wednesday afternoon. In his trial practice, Mr. Spansel concentrates in the defense of litigation in the areas of Environmental and Toxic Tort Litigation, Energy and Maritime Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Complex Litigation, and Class Action Litigation. He is a member of the following Adams and Reese LLP practice teams: Environmental Litigation and Toxic Tort, Maritime/Offshore, and Oil and Gas Litigation. He frequently lectures on maritime law and offshore, oil field liabilities at professional and industry seminars including the Construction Risk Conference, the Dallas Bar Association—Energy Law Section, the Petroleum Insurance & Environmental Protection Conference, PSAM-II (an international conference devoted to the design and operation of technological systems and processes), and the Loyola Longshore Conference. Twice a year he chairs the Forum on Litigation in the Gulf South (Fall—Dallas, Spring—San Antonio), a seminar hosted by Adams and Reese. He is the coauthor of several articles on maritime law in International Risk Management Institute's The Risk Report.

Mr. Spansel is listed in The Best Lawyers^® in America (Maritime Law). The Best Lawyers lists, representing 57 specialties in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., are compiled through exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of the top lawyers in the United States confidentially evaluate their professional peers. He is also listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (Environmental) and Chambers USA (Environmental), and is AV^® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Spansel has always served in a leadership capacity within the firm. He is currently serving his fourth term as a member of the firm's Executive Committee, and served as its Chairman in 1999. He currently serves on the firm's Expansion Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, and is Chairman of the Louisiana Offices' Strategic Planning Committee. In response to Hurricane Katrina, he also established the New Orleans/Baton Rouge Business Team and leads the team as Chairman. He is a former Practice Team Leader of the Marine and Energy Practice Team in the Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Spansel was honored with the "Words of Wisdom" Award for outstanding speaking accomplishment presented by International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (IRMI), at the Construction Risk Conference in October 2007.

He is active in several professional organizations such as the Louisiana State and American Bar Associations, the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, and the Defense Research Institute, and is a Proctor Member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States. In the community, Mr. Spansel serves on the Board of Directors of Greater New Orleans, Inc., is on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Jefferson Parish Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the Jefferson Business Council and serves as the Chamber's General Counsel. Additionally, he is a member of St. Thomas More Catholic Lawyers Association and the Co-Chair of Christian Brother's School's Capital Campaign. In 2010, he will serve as Chairman of the Archbishop's Community Appeal.

A New Orleans native, he is a graduate of Jesuit of High School in New Orleans. Prior to earning his Juris Doctorate from Tulane University Law School in 1978, Mr. Spansel attended Tulane University where he majored in Economics.