 | Terence S. Cox
P: 415.438.4600 x 215
|
Mr. Terence S. Cox is a founding partner of Cox, Wootton, Griffin, Hansen & Poulos LLP, formed in 1997. Prior to forming Cox, Wootton, Mr. Cox was a partner in Kelly, Cox, Wootton and Derby, Cook Quinby & Tweedt in San Francisco.
Mr. Cox represents a variety of business interests, including business entrepreneurs, shipping lines, property management enterprises, marinas, tug and barge companies, property owners, transportation concerns, manufacturers and employers in various trades. He has experience as lead counsel in complex trials and appellate matters in both state and federal courts, as well as in arbitrations and mediations. He is regularly called upon to serve as a mediator within the fields of his expertise. He has tried over 60 cases in those fields and has prevailed in over 93% of those cases.
Mr. Cox has been practicing law for thirty years. He is “A.V.” rated with the Martindale-Hubbell national attorneys’ listing and has been named a 2009 Northern California’s Super Lawyer in General Litigation as published in San Francisco Magazine. The honor is awarded to those lawyers who are among the top five percent of Northern California attorneys based upon input from their peers and through independent research conducted by Law & Politics.
Areas of Practice
- Litigation, Maritime, Real Estate, Business, Transportation and Insurance
- Mediator and Arbitrator
Education
- B.A. University of California at Berkeley (1973)
- J.D. University of Santa Clara, cum laude (1979)
Honors
- Named a Northern California Superlawyer in General Litigation (2009, 2010)
- "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubble
Admitted
- State of California (1979)
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal
- All Federal Courts in California
- Pro Hac Vice Admissions
- United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
- United States District Court for the District of Alaska
- United States District Court for the District of Arizona
Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- San Francisco Bar Association
- Marin County Bar Association
- Maritime Law Association of the U.S.
Academic and Pro Bono Service
- Faculty member with the Hastings College of Advocacy, one of the most prestigious clinics in the United States instructing practicing attorneys in the improvement of their jury trial techniques, from 1985 until 1998.
- Guest speaker for many maritime trade groups, including the San Francisco Board of Marine Underwriters and the Association of Marine Underwriters in New York City.
- Founding member and original legal counsel to Shakespeare at Stinson, an outdoor Shakespeare festival.
Representative Matters
- Amicus counsel in 1991 before the United States Supreme Court in the case Sisson v. Ruby, one of the most important maritime jurisdictional decisions by the Court, which broadly interpreted the right of pleasure vessel owners to have access to the federal courts and the benefits of maritime law.
- Lead counsel in multiple wrongful death cases.
- Lead counsel in well over a thousand serious personal injury cases.
- Lead counsel in dozens of products liability cases.
- Lead counsel in real estate disputes, including cases involving claims of non-disclosure, fraud and breach of fiduciary duties.
- Lead counsel in a Northern District of California federal court trial that was one of the few cases in which a vessel owner defeated liability based upon the "Act of God" defense. He won both at the trial court and on appeal, and the case represents the only case in which the Ninth Circuit federal appellate court has held, in a written opinion, that pleasure vessel owners have the right to the benefits of the federal Limitation of Liability Act. Hechinger v. Caskie, 890 F.2d 202 (9th 1989).
- Lead counsel in a trial brought under the Song Beverley Consumer Remedies Act.
- Successfully negotiated favorable resolutions for employers with Cal OHSA and Fed OSHA involving alleged job safety issues.
- Defeated wrongful termination cases brought against various employers.
- Acted as legal counsel in cases involving complex medical causation, including toxic exposure cases.
