Based in the firm’s Houston office, Todd also splits his time between the firm's headquarters in New Orleans and managing the firm's Gulfport office. His practice includes general maritime law matters, including arrests and attachments, cargo claims, limitation of liability, collisions and allisions; charter disputes; personal injury defense, including claims under the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act/DBA, and passenger claims under the general maritime law; counseling and litigation regarding marine insurance coverages, including inland marine policies, P&I, MEL, hull, bumbershoot, builder’s risk hull coverages, and special coverages provided by the London marine market; reviewing, drafting and implementing master service agreements, charter parties, leases and construction contracts, and contractual indemnity and insurance provisions; and commercial litigation. He has represented clients in state and federal courts across the gulf south and along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. 

Todd provides aggressive, cost-efficient and effective legal representation, beginning with a prompt investigation, an early evaluation and a narrowly tailored plan to meet the client’s goals for each case, whether through trial or a favorable settlement.  He arms his clients with the information necessary to make intelligent risk management decisions.

Todd was born in McComb, Mississippi and graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a B.A. in Chemistry in 1987. His background in science is an asset in cases involving technical subject matter.  In 1990, he received his J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center Louisiana State University.  Mr. Crawford served as the Law Clerk for the Honorable William P. Polk in the Ninth Judicial District Court of Louisiana from 1990 to 1991.   

Todd is admitted to practice in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Illinois, and New York.

 Representative Matters 

• Mike Hooks Dredging Co. v. Eckstein Marine Serv., No. 08-3945, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53103 (E.D. La. Mar. 28, 2012)
• Mike Hooks Dredging Co. v. Marquette Transp. Gulf-Inland, L.L.C., 716 F.3d 886 (5th Cir. 2013)
• Spencer v. Hercules Offshore, Inc., No. 13-4706, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55722 (E.D. La. Apr. 22, 2014)
• of Comm'rs of the Se. La. Flood Prot. Auth.-East v. Tenn. Gas Pipeline Co., LLC, 29 F. Supp. 3d 808 (E.D. La. 2014)
• Slatten, LLC v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., No. 13-673, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155223 (E.D. La. Oct. 31, 2014)
• Boudreaux v. Transocean Deepwater, Inc., 721 F.3d 723 (5th Cir. 2013)
• Operaciones Tecnicas Marinas, S.A.S. v. Diversified Marine Servs., L.L.C., 658 F. App'x 732 (5th Cir. 2016)
• Transocean Enter. v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc., 33 So. 3d 459 (Miss. 2010)
• Johnson v. Gulf Tran, Inc., CIVIL ACTION No. 99-1741 SECTION: E/1, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16888 (E.D. La. Nov. 15, 2000)
• Cargo-Levant Schiffahrtsgesellschaft MBH v. PSL Ltd., No. 1:13-CV-2296-AT, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 192138 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 9, 2013)
• Carrier v. ENSCO Int'l, Inc., CIVIL ACTION NO: 99-1030 SECTION: "R"(4), 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 326 (E.D. La. Jan. 5, 2001)
• Billiot v. Marquette Transp. Co. Offshore, L.L.C., 2013-2218 ( La. App. 1 Cir 06/06/14)
• L & L Marine Transp. v. M/V Hokuetsu Hope, 895 F. Supp. 297 (S.D. Ala. 1995)
• Savarese v. Pearl River Navigation, LLC, No. 09-129, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103201 (E.D. La. Sep. 14, 2010)
• In re Eckstein Marine Serv., LLC, No. 10-10-BAJ-SCR, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41959 (M.D. La. Mar. 24, 2011)
• Carnett v. Marquette Transp. Co., No. 08-4189, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103732 (E.D. La. Oct. 28, 2009)

Selected Publications

• Can a seaman recover punitive damages from a non-employer third party under the general maritime law?, May 2018
• “Ninth Circuit Rejects Fifth Circuit’s Decision in McBride, Allows Injured Seaman to Assert Punitive Damages for Unseaworthiness,” January 2018
• “Fifth Circuit Throws Davis & Sons’ Test For Maritime Contracts Overboard,” January 2018, International Law Office

Professional Associations

• Southeast Admiralty Law Institute
• Maritime Law Association
• Defense Research Institute 
• Louisiana State Bar Association
• Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board
• Texas State Bar Association
• Houston Mariner Association
• Alabama State Bar Association
• Mississippi State Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission
• New York State Bar Association