Robert Burns Fisher Jr.

Robert “Rob” Burns Fisher, Jr., died, Monday, April 25, 2016 peacefully at his New Orleans home after a long illness. He is survived by his devoted wife Lisa and their son Robert Burns Fisher, III; his brothers, Michael Kilpatrick Fisher (Gladys) of New Orleans, LA, and Lawrason Douglas Fisher of St. Francisville, LA; sisters-in-law Amy L. Miller (Barry Yager), Rebecca M. Reitman (Eric), and brother-in-law Michael T.D. Miller (Britton). Rob was born in St. Francisville, LA, the son of the late Robert Burns Fisher and Helen Lawrason Kilpatrick Fisher of Feliciana Plantation. Among his distinguished ancestors was his great-great-great-grandfather Judge George Mathews, Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1813 until his death in 1836. Rob enjoyed a long and distinguished career practicing Admiralty Law at the New Orleans law firm Chaffe McCall. He was an accomplished international Admiralty lawyer who assisted in a number of complex international law cases involving damage to the marine environment. He has represented Lloyd's underwriters, matters involving the U.S. Coast Guard including environmental issues surrounding oil and chemical spills, and U.S. Coast Guard restrictions, in addition to substantial experience with U.S. government administrative agency practices. Prior to joining Chaffe McCall, from 1966 through 1970 Fisher served in the United States Navy as a deck officer and navigator aboard destroyer-type vessels operating in the Atlantic, Pacific, South China Sea, Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. He has handled cases involving collisions in the English Channel, Indian Ocean, and Panama Canal, as well as the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and other inland waters of the U. S. After joining the U. S. Naval Reserve, he taught a course on Collision Regulations and became familiar with lower Mississippi River pilotage while assigned to a Naval Reserve vessel that operated out of New Orleans. Fisher was a member of the West Feliciana Port Commission, a state board that oversees one of Louisiana's newest river ports, and a member of the Board of Editors of Shipping and Transport International magazine. He authored numerous law review and periodical articles, in addition to seminar papers on various maritime topics. He created and edited a unique Collision Case Survey, first appearing in 13 Tulane Maritime Law Journal 355 (1989), which is updated on an annual basis. Fisher received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He also received his Juris Doctorate from Tulane, where he was a member of the Tulane Moot Court Board and served as a member and founding Editor-in-Chief of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal (formerly The Maritime Lawyer). Fisher practiced before the U.S. Supreme Court, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and all U.S. District Courts in Louisiana. He was a member of Grace Episcopal Church in St. Francisville and Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans. Funeral services will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, 11621 Ferdinand Street, St. Francisvillle, LA 70775, on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at 11:00 AM, with the burial to follow in the church cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in the name of Robert Burns Fisher, Jr., may be made to Tulane Maritime Law Journal, Tulane University Law School, 6329 Freret Street, New Orleans, LA 70118. To view and sign the family guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.