Andrew has practiced law since 1991 with a concentration primarily in the commercial marine industry. He is the founding member of Saunders & Saunders, LLP where he practices with his wife Sandra and brother Christopher. Over the course of his career, he has handled matters both large and small in the areas of civil litigation, commercial and residential real estate and admiralty.
He has dealt with complex commercial litigation matters in both state and federal courts in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Texas and Florida as well as in international jurisdictions such as Mexico, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Cameroon, South Africa, China and the UK (London). He has also directly overseen the creation of US client foreign business entities in Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Gabon, Cameroon, Kazakhstan, the UAE, and Singapore.
Andrew is a member of the US Maritime Law Association (Proctor Status), the New Bedford Bar Association and the New Bedford Port Society.
He started in the marine industry at the age of 17 working on tugboats and as a commercial fisherman out of the Ports of New Bedford, Boston, and Gloucester. Over the course of his legal career, he has served as counsel to the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission (2002 to 2007) as well as General Counsel to a large US-based international offshore oil service and marine construction company (2008 – 2017).
His commercial maritime law practice provides him the opportunity to counsel clients in marine and marine-related commercial and corporate transactions both in the US and internationally. He provides advice to owners, charterers, insurers and lenders primarily in the areas of acquisitions and sales, affreightment, brokerage, vessels construction and repair agreements, charter parties, marine offshore construction and dredging, salvage disputes, vessels documentation, Coastwise trade laws, cabotage laws, oil pollution response & recovery, finance and foreclosure priority, management and crewing, towage, BIMCO contracts, double tax treaties and other trade-related agreements.
His litigation practice emphasizes traditional areas of admiralty practice involving allision and collision, arrest and attachment, bankruptcy and creditor’s rights, cargo, casualty and insurance defense, fisheries violations, Jones Act personal injury claims, unseaworthiness claims, maintenance & cure claims, maritime liens, possessory actions, salvage, and surety claims. He has served as a tribunal member in maritime matters.
He resides in Fairhaven, Massachusetts with his wife Sandra, has two daughters and a dog named George.