PH. 904.356.1306

Buhler

Partner

Phillip A. Buhler

Contact information pabuhler@mppkj.com

904.356.1306

vCard

Areas of Practice

  • Maritime law
  • Complex civil litigation
  • Environmental law
  • Insurance defense
  • International law

Education

  • College of William & Mary A.B., 1984
  • University of Miami School of Law J.D., 1987
  • Tulane University School of Law L.L.M. (Admiralty), 1988
  • Dalhousie University, Schulich School of Law Candidate for Ph.D,

Admissions

  • Florida (1989)
  • Louisiana (1988)
  • District of Columbia (1989)
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court for Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • United States Court of International Trade
  • United States Court of Federal Claims
  • Supreme Court of the United States

A member of the firm since 1989, Phillip Buhler’s clients range from large multinational corporations to smaller local and family enterprises. He has represented their interests in a variety of complex litigation and transactional matters in federal and state courts in Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.

Mr. Buhler’s clients include companies in Europe, Latin America and East Asia, as well as U.S. companies based in and conducting business in Florida. He has also developed and maintained business and professional relationships in Germany and Colombia and several other nations in Latin America.

Mr. Buhler began his legal career with a large New Orleans firm after obtaining his L.L.M. degree in Admiralty from Tulane. He is actively involved in professional and business organizations statewide in Florida, throughout the Southeast and internationally.

Mr. Buhler has served as a visiting lecturer (Dozent) in the law faculty of the Institut fur US/Amerikanisches Recht of the Universitat zu Koeln in Cologne, Germany, teaching US and international civil procedure and intermodal transportation law, and as a visiting lecturer (Dozent) on the law faculty of the Universitat Hamburg teaching maritime law. He is also pursuing a Ph.D in law at Dalhousie University in Canada working on concepts for non-prescriptive regulation of shipping in the Polar regions.

Outside the office, Mr. Buhler is an avid sailor and hiker, and he and his wife enjoy foreign travel.

Associations/ Memberships/ Distinctions

  • Maritime Law Association of the United States Past Board Member; Past Chair of International Organizations Conventions & Standards Committee
  • Comite Maritime International Member, Polar Shipping International Working Group and Antarctica Subcommittee
  • Inter-American Bar Association Board Member
  • Federal Bar Association Jacksonville Chapter – President, 2003-2004
  • Associated Industries of Florida Founding Chair, Maritime & Ports Council
  • The International Propeller Club, Port of Jacksonville President, 2002-2003
  • Daniel Memorial, Inc. Chair, Board of Trustees
  • Florida Bar, International Law Section Member, Executive Council
  • Hispanic Bar Association of Northeast Florida President, 2006-2007
  • Florida Civil Law (International) Notary
  • Canadian Maritime Law Association
  • Ukraine Focus, Board member

Awards / Recognitions

  • Best Lawyers in America – Admiralty & Maritime
  • AV Preeminent rating, Martindale-Hubbell
  • Florida Super Lawyers – Transportation & Maritime
  • Who’s Who Legal: Florida
  • Jacksonville Magazine's Top Lawyers in Jacksonville
  • Florida Bar Board Certified in Admiralty & Maritime Law since 1996
  • Florida Bar Board Certified in International Law since 2008

Publications

  • Goal-Based Standards, Meta-regulation and Tripartism in Arctic Shipping: What Prospects in Canadian Waters? In Kristin Bartenstein and Aldo Chircop (eds), Shipping in Inuit Nunangat: Governance Challenges and Approaches in Canadian Arctic Waters (Leiden: Brill)

    2023
  • The Application of International Maritime Law in the United States: An Overview with Emphasis on Jurisdictional and Procedural Considerations (transl.), in Junker, K.W. (ed), US-Rechtspraxis: Praxishandbuch Zivilrecht und Offentliches Recht (Berlin: De Gruyter)

    2017
  • Phillip A. Buhler, Stirring the Alphabet Soup: Some Thoughts on the Current Status of Natural Resource Damage Assessments Under OPA 90 and Other Marine Environmental Statutes, SE. Adm. L. Inst.

    2005
  • Phillip A. Buhler, The United States as Foreign Asset Haven: Is Prejudgment Security Available in the United States for Non-United States Litigation? Inter-Am. Bar Ass’n Conference, Cochabamba, Bolivia

    2002
  • Phillip A. Buhler, Forum Selection and Choice of Law Clauses in International Contracts: A United States Viewpoint with Particular Reference to Maritime Contracts and Bills of Lading, Inter-Am. L. Rev. Vol. 27, No.1

    1995
  • Phillip A. Buhler & Derek A. Walker, Choice of Law and Choice of Forum in International Transactions, Inter-Am. Bar Ass’n Conference, Cartagena, Colombia

    1989
  • U.S. Polar Policy and Implementation and Interpretation of the Polar Code: Background, Practice and Prognosis The Journal of International Maritime Law, Vol. 24, Issue 6

    2018
  • Phillip A. Buhler, Promotion of the Concept of the Rule of Law Through the Implementation of the Central America Free Trade Agreement, Int’l L.Q., Vol. XXIII, No.1

    2007
  • Phillip A. Buhler, Transnational Service of Process and Discovery in Federal Court Proceedings: An Overview, Tul. Mar. L.J., Vol. 27, No.1

    2002
  • Phillip A. Buhler, New Struggle with an Old Menace: Towards a Revised Definition of Maritime Piracy, 8 Currents Int'l Trade L.J. 61

    Winter, 1999
  • Phillip A. Buhler, The Oder-Neisse Line: A Reappraisal Under International Law (Columbia University Press)

    1990