Albert “Al” Peacock was born and raised in Palos Verdes, California. He attended the University of Southern California and graduated with honors in 1980 with a B.A. degree in both English and religion. During his undergraduate years, Mr. Peacock was enrolled in the Thematic Option honors program at USC. He was also a member and, in his senior year, the president of the Delta Pi chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Mr. Peacock went on to attend the University of Southern California Law Center where he graduated with a J.D. degree in 1983. During law school, he helped restart the Beatty Inn of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and served as its president. He also started and edited the LLAW STREET JOURNAL.
In the summer of 1981, Mr. Peacock clerked in Agana, Guam for the law firm of Ching, Rosensweig & Boertzel. In the summer of 1982, Mr. Peacock clerked in Honolulu, Hawaii for the law firm of Hamilton, Gibson, Nickelson, Rush & Moore.
After graduating from law school in 1983, Mr. Peacock returned to Honolulu, passed the Hawaii Bar Exam and practiced with the Hamilton, Gibson firm for 5 years. While in Hawaii, Mr. Peacock’s practice focused on personal injury defense litigation including aviation accidents, automobile accidents, premises liability, products liability, and toxic torts. Mr. Peacock tried five jury trials while in Hawaii and argued before the Hawaii Supreme Court.
In 1988 Mr. Peacock returned to Southern California, passed the California Bar and joined Keesal, Young & Logan as an associate. In December 1991, Mr. Peacock became a shareholder in the firm. As in Hawaii, Mr. Peacock continued to focus on personal injury defense work, but did so primarily in the areas of maritime, products liability, and toxic torts.
In 1994 Mr. Peacock opened Keesal, Young & Logan’s Anchorage, Alaska office and passed the Alaska Bar. While in Alaska, Mr. Peacock focused almost exclusively on maritime matters including accident investigations, oil spill clean ups, and litigation. During this time, he investigated numerous major maritime casualties and defended ship owners in three significant NTSB/USCG investigations including two cruise ship groundings and one cruise ship fire.
In 1998 Mr. Peacock returned to the Long Beach office of Keesal, Young & Logan where he remains today. Mr. Peacock’s focus continues to be on personal injury defense, primarily under maritime law, including the Jones Act, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, Death on the High Seas Act, and under general maritime law. He also continues to investigate serious maritime casualties including collisions, allisions, heavy-weather incidents, serious injuries and deaths aboard ship, and oil spills.
Since the start of his career, Mr. Peacock has tried twenty-six personal injury and wrongful death claims; commercial contract disputes including engineering and construction contract and professional negligence claims; and, professional malpractice cases in Hawaii, California, Alaska, Missouri and Colorado. He has arbitrated over fifteen cases involving insurance coverage, securities, commercial contract disputes, and personal injury claims in California, Alaska, and Texas. He has briefed and/or argued thirteen appeals before the Hawaii Supreme Court, California Appellate Court, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Position: Member. Born Los Angeles, California, April 1, 1959; admitted to bar, 1983, Hawaii; 1988, California; 1990, United States Supreme Court; 1994, Alaska. Education: University of Southern California (B.A., magna cum laude, 1980; J.D., 1983). Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Delta Phi. Member: Hawaii State and Alaska Bar Associations; State Bar of California; Maritime Law Association of the United States (1998 Proctor in Admiralty). Founding Editor of the LLAW STREET JOURNAL, 1982, University of Southern California Law Center. AV® rating by Martindale-Hubbell.
Published decisions:
* Ghotra v. M/V GRACIOUS, 113 F.3d 1050 (9th Cir. 1997)
* Corporacion Mexicana De Servicios Maritimos v. M/T RESPECT, 89 F.3d 650 (9th Cir. 1997)
* Nelsen v. R/V KILA, 784 F. Supp. 770 (D. Haw. 1992)
* Knight v. M/V EIYO, 1996 AMC 958 and 1996 AMC 1720 (D. Alaska 1996)
* Kido v. Davis, 68 Haw. 447, 719 P.2d 387 (1986)
* Nelsen v. M/V KILA, 752 F. Supp. 350 (D. Haw. 1991)
* Torres v. Caribbean Fishing Co., 141 F. Supp. 2d 1028 (S.D. Cal. 2001), reversed in part and affirmed in part, 30 F. App’x 752 (9th Cir. 2002)
* Witty v. Hyundai Marine, 2002 AMC 2195 (C.D. Cal. 2002)
* In re Kuroshima Limitation Proceeding, 2003 AMC 1681 (2003)
* Muller v. Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, 172 Cal. App. 4th 87 (2009)
* Cape Flattery Ltd. v. Titan Maritime LLC, 607 F. Supp. 2d 1179 (D. Haw. 2009)
* Cape Flattery Ltd. v. Titan Maritime LLC, 647 F.3d 914 (9th Cir. 2011) (cert. denied)
For Mr. Peacock’s complete curriculum vitae, please click here.