Deborah C. Waters
Owner
Attorney at Law; Proctor in Admiralty
Waters Law Firm
Maritime law focus. Represents clients in all types of maritime claims, including Jones Act, Death on the High Seas Act, unseaworthiness, maintenance and cure, limitation of liability, general maritime law, recreational boating, and other injury claims. Represents injured maritime workers and others for maritime-related injury. Understands marine terminal operations and port operations. Litigates extensively in both federal and state courts in Virginia and nationally.
COLLEGE OF WILLIAM & MARY
MARSHALL-WYTHE SCHOOL OF LAW
Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy
2005 to 2019
Lecturer in Maritime Law Course, annually, 2013 to present
Commissioner, Virginia Port Authority
Appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, July 2014 to 2019
Reappointed by Gov. Ralph Northam, July 2019 to June 30, 2024
Old Dominion University
Strome College of Business
Maritime and Supply Chain Management Advisory Council, 2018 to present
Vice Chair, Advisory Council, 2020 to January 2024
Old Dominion University
School of Supply Chain, Logistics and Maritime Operations (School Approved, 2023; first undergraduate class Fall, 2024)
Adjunct Professor 2024 to present
Chair, Advisory Council, January 2024 to present
Member of Search Committee for Director of School of Supply Chain, Logistics and Maritime Operations, 2023-24
Member of Curriculum Development Committee for School of Supply Chain, Logistics and Maritime Operations, 2023-24
Marshall-Wythe School of Law
College of William and Mary
Juris Doctor – 1988
Jessup International Moot Court
Old Dominion University
B.A. in Political Science – 1985
Political Science Student of the Year – 1985
Political Science Honor Society
- Admitted to practice in Virginia in 1988
- Admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States
- Admitted to all Virginia State Courts and U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia – 1988
- Admitted to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia 1999
- Admitted to Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals – 1999
- Admitted pro hac vice in U.S. District Courts outside of Virginia including
Seattle, New Orleans, Boston, Miami, Evansville, Baltimore
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating 2026
- Martindale-Hubbell/National Law Journal
- Selected by Attorney Peers as 2021 – 26 Woman Leader in the Law
- Recipient of Most Influential Women of Virginia 2014 Award
- Awarded by Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly and Virginia Medical Weekly
- Superlawyers, 2014 through 2026
- Recipient of Top Admiralty/Maritime Lawyers of 2015 through 2026 by Coastal Virginia Magazine
- Honored for One of Top Ten Jury Verdicts in Virginia, 2014
- Honored for One of Top Ten Settlements in Virginia, 2014
- Voted by National Peers in Best Lawyers in America in Admiralty and Maritime Law, 2017 through 2026
Member of Limitation and Maritime Law Committee
Of the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee
In re: Oil Spill by the Deepwater Horizon in the
Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010
Multi-District Litigation, New Orleans, LA
Maritime Law Association of the United States
Proctor in Admiralty Status; Member since 2006
Member of Board of Directors 2016 to 2019
Chair of Stevedores, Marine Terminals and Vessel Services Committee, 2019-2023
Member of Nominating Committee
Member Marine Torts and Casualties Committee
Member of Cybersecurity Committee
Past Member of Long-Range Planning Committee (Special Committee)
American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America)
Chair, Admiralty/Maritime Section 2009-2010
Member of Board of Directors, Admiralty Section, 2006-present
Member, 1986 to present
Member of AAJ Women Trial Lawyers Caucus
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Member Board of Governors, 2011 to 2017
Member Judicial Relations Committee
Member CLE Committee 1996 – 2022
Women’s Caucus Member
Virginia College of Trial Advocacy, Faculty 2007-2009
Chair, Paralegal Section, 2011 to 2012
I’Anson-Hoffman American Inn of Court, Member since 1987
Ex-Officio Master Status
President, May 2012 to 2013
Vice-President, May 2011 to 2012
Treasurer, 2010 – 2011
Secretary, 2008-2010
Member of Board of Directors, 2004 – 2013
Program Committee, Chair, 2004-2008
Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association
Former Member Board of Directors
Former Chair of Professionalism Committee
Suffolk Bar Association, Former Member
President, 2010
Vice Chair, 2009
Secretary/Treasurer, 2008
Virginia Maritime Association, Member 2011 - 2026
Propeller Club of Norfolk, Member since 2011
Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute
Norfolk Port Director, 2015-2017
Former Member, Board of Directors
Presentation and Paper, “Navigating Rules and Requirements for Expert Disclosures: How to Stay in Your Lane Without Risk of Exclusion,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, Discovery is a Highway: Winning Best Practices, August 27, 2026, Glen Allen, Virginia
Presentation and Paper, “A Primer on Maritime Wrongful Death Claims,” AAJ Annual Convention, Admiralty Law Section, July 27, 2026, Chicago, Illinois
Panel Discussion, “Let’s Rock the Boat: Limitation of Liability Issues and Exculpatory Clauses in Recreational Boating,” Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Annual Conference, June 20, 2026, co-panelist with Charles S. Davant and Michael Freije, Williamsburg, Virginia
Presentation, “The Rotterdam Rules, Where Are We and Where Are We Going?.” Stevedores, Marine Terminals and Vessel Services Committee of Maritime Law Association of the United States, May 1, 2025, co-presented with Mark E. Newcomb, New York, New York
Presentation, “Transportation of Goods,” ODU International Business Law Class, March, 2024
Course Presentation, “Introduction to Maritime Law,” Selected Navy Personnel, Old Dominion University, November 13, 2025, co-presented with David H. Sump
Panel Moderator, “Offshore Wind Farm Planning and Installation – Issues and Recent Developments Pertinent To Legal Advisors,” Stevedores, Marine Terminals and Vessel Services Committee of Maritime Law Association of the United States, May 4, 2023, New York, New York
Presentation, “Status of Maritime Labor Negotiations in the United States,” Stevedores, Marine Terminals and Vessel Services Committee of Maritime Law Association of the United States, 2010 -2023
“Cybersecurity on Marine Terminals: Move Forward with Urgency but Not Panic” Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin, Vol. 14, No. 4, 4th Qtr. 2016, p. 183
Presentation and Paper, “Death on the High Seas Act: Current Status and Needed Amendments,” AAJ Annual Convention, Admiralty Law Section, July, 2016, Los Angeles, California
Presentation, “What is Maritime Law?”, Virginia Beach Legal Staff Association, Fall, 2016, Williamsburg, Virginia
“Seaman Status after Dize: If You Want to Be a Seaman, Get on the Boat!”, AAJ Spring Newsletter 2015
Presentation, “Final Pretrial Order: Trial’s Roadmap,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association seminar, October, 2014, co-presented with David H. Sump
Presentation, “Eight Federal Rules Everyone Should Know,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association seminar, October, 2013, presented with David H. Sump
Presentation, “Recovering for Your Client Who is Injured on Foreign Soil as Part of a Cruise, Tour or Expedition,” Resort Torts Litigation Group, AAJ Annual Convention, July 29, 2012, Chicago, Illinois
Presentation, “BP Oil Spill and Its Impact on Maritime Law,” Propeller Club of Norfolk, Virginia, November 9, 2011
Presentation, “OPA Preemption in the BP Oil Spill Multi-District Litigation – Lessons Learned,” AAJ Annual Convention, July 10, 2011, New York, New York,
Presentation, “Status of the BP Oil Spill Multi-District Litigation,” Marine Torts Committee, Maritime Law Association of the United States, May 5, 2011, New York
Presentation and Paper, “Character and Habit Evidence,” Evidence for the Trial Lawyer, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, CLE, October 24, 2010, Fairfax, Virginia
Panelist, “Status of Legislation Related to Admiralty and Maritime Issues Pending Before Congress”, 17th Annual Admiralty Law Symposium, Louisiana State Bar Association, September 25, 2010, New Orleans, Louisiana
Questioned by members of U. S. Senate Commerce Committee as a result of BP Oil Spill issues; provided information related to amendment of Death on the High Seas Act, the Jones Act, Limitation of Liability Act and Oil Pollution Act; Washington, D.C., July 22, 2010
AAJ Admiralty Section, Education Program Moderator, Annual Convention, Vancouver, Canada, 2010
Presentation and Paper, “Jones Act Seaman or Longshoreman: When Two Federal Laws Collide.” Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group, AAJ Annual Convention, July, 2010, Vancouver, Canada
Presentation, “Potential Claimants and Recoverable Damages Including OPA 90”, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Litigation Group, AAJ Annual Convention, July 2010, Vancouver, Canada
Panelist, “Ten Virginia Supreme Court Cases You Need to Fully Understand,” Virginia College of Trial Advocacy by Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, May, 2008, Norfolk, Virginia
Presentation, “Law of Damages”, Virginia CLE, Telephone Seminar, May 10, 2007 and May 24, 2007
Presentation, “Marketing by Associate: Increasing the Bottom Line While Training Future Leaders”, Virginia Bar Association Convention, January 19, 2007, Williamsburg, Virginia
Moderator, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Admiralty Section, Annual Convention, July 2007, Chicago, Illinois
“Wrongful Death Damages”, Author, chapter of The Law of Damages in Virginia, edited by Guilford Ware, published by Virginia CLE, 2000; Updated in 2003, 2005 and by The Law of Damages in Virginia, Second Ed., 2008.
Presentation, “The Law of Damages in Virginia,” Virginia CLE Seminar, Richmond, Virginia 2000, 2004; Falls Church, Virginia, 2000
“Personal Injury Damages for Non-Physical Injuries”
Chapter of The Law of Damages in Virginia, edited by Guilford Ware, published by Virginia CLE, 2000; Updated in 2003, 2005 and
Presentation to Virginia CLE Seminar, “The Law of Damages in Virginia”, Norfolk, Virginia 2000, 2004
Presentation and Paper, “U. S. Supreme Court Maritime Cases Since 1990: Diamonds in the Rough”, Admiralty Law Section of Association of Trial Lawyers of America, National Convention, July, 2005, Montreal, Canada
Presentation, “Inns of Court in London”, Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association, 2004, co-presented with Philip N. Davey
Presentation and Paper, “Sex Discrimination and Maritime Law: Does Preemption Exist?”, Admiralty Law Section of Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, July 2000, Chicago, Illinois
Presentation, “Handling Discrimination Cases: A Guide for Paralegals,” Virginia Alliance of Legal Assistant Associations, 2002, Roanoke, Virginia
Presentation, “The Basics of Maritime Law,” Presentation to Tidewater Association of Legal Assistants, 1999, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Panelist, ANLIR annual ethics seminar, 2003