Bio

As a Partner in the environmental/toxic tort and maritime practice groups in the San Diego office of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP, André Picciurro enjoys defending the firm’s clients against myriad personal injury and property damage claims involving groundwater contamination, exposure to benzene, lead, asbestos, diacetyl, chlorine dioxide, and other chemicals, food poisoning, gastrointestinal illness outbreaks, and defective products. Similarly, he regularly defends landlords and property owners in suits brought by tenants claiming their units are uninhabitable due to mold, rodents, pests, and other substandard conditions. The son of a maritime claims adjuster in Miami, Florida, the “Cruise Capital of the World,” Mr. Picciurro attended the University of Miami School of Law, during which time he clerked for a maritime defense firm that hired him out of law school. Mr. Picciurro was immediately submerged in the defense of cruise lines and other vessel owners in personal injury actions brought by crew and passengers. Now, as a maritime attorney for over 19 years, Mr. Picciurro has piloted his clients through arbitration of crew member employment disputes, vessel arrests, attachments, cargo claims, oil spill response, limitation of liability actions, and general average claims. As former outside general counsel for the world’s largest cruise line trade association, Mr. Picciurro provided general corporate advice, drafted internal corporate policies and governance documents, handled labor disputes, reviewed and negotiated contracts, prepared environmental and safety policies, advised on compliance with national and international laws governing advertising, antitrust, and disability issues, and directed outside litigation. A legal researcher and writer, Mr. Picciurro has drafted two amicus curiae briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court and is often asked to draft appellate-level briefs in various jurisdictions.