Justin G. Guthrie

Partner

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200 East Saint Julian Street
PO Box 9848
Savannah, GA 31412-0048

Tel 912.236.0261
Fax 912.236.4936

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Justin Guthrie, a partner in the firm’s Savannah office, specializes in maritime and admiralty law. He has experience litigating marine casualty cases involving recreational, commercial, and ocean-going vessels.

As a P&I Port Correspondent, Justin is regularly called on to provide the P&I Clubs and their ocean carrier members with legal advice, on-scene casualty investigation, regulatory assistance, and related services for legal matters arising in the Ports of Savannah and Brunswick, including defending vessel interests in state and federal court. Justin also advises individuals, businesses, and insurance carriers concerning maritime personal injury and property damage, oil spill liability, logistical disputes, and commercial fishing and aquaculture-related casualties. In addition to assisting clients’ litigation needs, he also helps navigate certain regulatory concerns involving the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Vessel Documentation Center, the Federal Maritime Commission, and Customs and Border Protection.

Justin earned his J.D. and Certificate of Specialization in Maritime Law from Tulane University and his B.A. in Foreign Affairs & International Relations from the University of Virginia. During law school, Justin was an editor on the Tulane Maritime Law Journal, and he clerked for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Aviation & Admiralty litigation division and the Federal Maritime Commission in Washington, D.C.

Prior to law school, Justin was a collegiate sailor, a U.S. Sailing instructor and racer, and an oyster farmer for one of the largest aquaculture oyster companies on the Chesapeake Bay.

Experience

Practice Areas / Industries

Practice Areas

Industries

Representative Engagements

Representative Engagements

  • Assisted foreign vessel owners in obtaining summary judgment in longshore personal injury matters brought under 33 U.S.C. § 905(b) involving the alleged failure of container vessel lashing gear, including lashing bars and twistlocks.
  • Assisted in the defense of a national pharmaceutical distributor in an opioid lawsuit of first impression brought by twenty-one plaintiffs seeking over $200 million in damages, resulting in a defense jury verdict after a 5-week trial. 
  • Assisted a foreign vessel owner in the expeditious release of its vessel from arrest and successfully defended a bunker broker’s necessaries claim against that vessel.
  • Assisted a naval architect in his defense against a shipbuilder’s breach of contract claim, resulting in a defense jury verdict, and pursued a successful breach of contract counterclaim against that shipbuilder.
  • Assisted a real estate marketing firm in obtaining a judgment of $1.5 million, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, for a consumer protection act violation. 
  • Assisted a marine insurance carrier in obtaining a declaratory judgment based on a seaworthiness condition in its insurance policy and successfully defended that finding on appeal to the Fourth Circuit and on brief to the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • Assisted a marine insurance carrier in obtaining a declaratory judgment based on a primary residence exclusion in its insurance policy.
  • Assisted a marine insurance carrier in connection with the favorable pre-trial resolution of several lost fish catch and commercial fishing gear damage claims.
  • Advised commercial aquaculture clients as to maritime personal injury and Jones Act liability and assisted in drafting the amendment to the Jones Act concerning aquaculture workers, 46 U.S.C. § 30104 (b).
  • Assisted vessel owners and insureds in successfully limiting their liability for certain marine casualties under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, 46 U.S.C. § 30501, et seq.
  • Assisted vessel owners and insureds in their defense against maritime personal injury claims arising from various marine casualties, including collision, allision, and wake.
  • Assisted vessel owners in the favorable representation and resolution of varying degrees of vessel damage claims against marinas and storage facilities, including fire, flooding, and total loss claims.
  • Favorably represented consignors and logistics brokers in connection with several commercial trucking, transport, and cold storage related disputes across the United States.
  • Favorably defended auto insurance carriers and their insureds as lead trial counsel in matters relating to insurance coverage, breach of contract, and personal injury.

Community Work

Community Work

  • UVA Club of Savannah: Past President (2022-2024), Board Member
  • Tulane Maritime Law Journal: Alumni Mentor

Credentials

Education

Education

Tulane University Law School: J.D., Maritime Law Certificate, 2016
University of Virginia: B.A., Foreign Affairs & International Relations, 2012

Affiliations

Affiliations

  • State Bar of Georgia
  • American Bar Association: Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section; Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Maritime Law Association
  • Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute
  • Tulane Maritime Law Journal
  • Virginia State Bar

Licensed In

Licensed In

Georgia
Virginia

Insights

Articles

Fisheries Recent Case Update

May 2, 2025

By: Justin G. Guthrie Authored by Justin Guthrie, this update—prepared for the Maritime Law Association’s Spring Meeting in New York City—highlights recent notable admiralty decisions involving fisheries-related issues, with a…

Fisheries Recent Case Update

October 19, 2023

Authored by Justin Guthrie, this update was distributed to the Maritime Law Association and discusses recent noteworthy admiralty cases that involve fisheries-related issues, specifically decisions by the federal circuit courts…

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Presentations

Presentations

Fisheries Recent Case Update
Presented at the Maritime Law Association’s Fall Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, in October 2024.

Issues in Maritime Products Liability
Co-presented at the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys’ Annual Meeting in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in October 2023.

Fisheries Recent Case Update
Presented at the Maritime Law Association’s Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, in October 2023. 

Fisheries Recent Case Update
Presented at the Maritime Law Association’s Spring Meeting in New York, New York, in May 2023.

The Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuit Update
Presented at the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute (SEALI) Annual Seminar in Louisville, Kentucky, in June 2022.

Maritime Personal Injury and the Aquaculture Business
Presented at the East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s & Aquaculture Trade Exposition in January 2020.

A Practical Guide to the Limitation of Liability Act
Presented to the Mid-Atlantic Mariner’s Club in October 2019.

Navigating Marine Insurance from the Insured’s Point of View
Presented to the Virginia Yacht Club in October 2018.

Shedding Light on the Legal Side of Aquaculture
Presented at the Virginia Aquaculture Conference in November 2017.

Media

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News