James C. Winton has been involved in the oil and gas and maritime industries for over 30 years. During his career he has represented companies in these industries with a focus on pipeline, ocean, air and truck transportation. Mr. Winton has had extensive litigation experience in those areas and has appeared in the state or federal trial or appellate courts of Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Ohio and Texas. His specific areas of experience include the following:
Mr. Winton was elected to a three-year term on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors in 2002. In 2005, he was selected Third Year Director of the Year and received a Presidential Citation for his work as chair of the Facilities and Equipment and Policy Manual Subcommittees. He has also served as an officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Southern District of Texas Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and in 2005 was the Chapter President. In 2006, Mr. Winton was appointed by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas to serve on the Board of Directors for the Texas Legal Protection Plan. In 2007, he served as Secretary of the Lakewood Yacht Club and was elected to a three-year term on its Board of Directors in 2008. Mr. Winton was the State Bar of Texas Board Liaison to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Committee in 2002-2003 and has been an appointed member of that committee since 2003.
Mr. Winton teaches the general maritime law course at the University of Houston Law Center and is the author of, “Corporate Representative Depositions in Texas—Often Used but Rarely Appreciated,” 55 Baylor Law Review 651 (2003), a definitive study of corporate representative depositions in Texas and, in some respects, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well. A shorter version of the article appeared as “Corporate Representative Depositions in Texas,” 28 The Advocate 34 (2004), the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section Report.
In addition, Mr. Winton has been a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States for more than 15 years and a member of the Carriage of Goods by Sea and Limitation of Liability Committees. Mr. Winton is also active in various yacht club races. He has held an Advanced PADI scuba diving certification since 1988 and has been a certified scuba diver since 1967. He served on active duty with the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1978 - 1981 and was a commissioned officer in the JAG Corps from 1975 - 1996, ending as a Lieutenant Commander.
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