VICTORIA BRANCH

Victoria Branch is a Law Clerk and will transition into her role of Associate Attorney upon admission to the D.C. Bar. Victoria’s practice centers the disciplines of maritime and admiralty law and plays host to a specialized interests in Shipping Act compliance and regulatory disputes. Further, Victoria is focused on developing her expertise in other maritime matters, such as cargo loss, marine casualties, charterparties, and vessel finance.

Victoria earned her Juris Doctor from Tulane University Law School in May 2025, accompanied by a Certificate of Concentration in Maritime Law. During her time at Tulane, Victoria distinguished herself as an exemplar of student leadership. She prioritized community development through her service as the President of the Black Law Students Association. She matured her professional and academic interests in Maritime Law as an active member of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal, serving as Senior Articles Editor and Notes and Comments Editor for Volume 49. and previously as a Junior Member for Volume 48. Her publications include a Note, When Actions Really Do Speak Louder Than Words: The Central District of California Expands the Definition of "Implied Consent" in Maritime Shipping Contracts in Milos Product Tanker Corp. v. Valero Marketing and Supply Co., which appears in Journal’s online publication of Volume 48, and a Comment, Woe is the Red Sea: Why U.S. Federal Law and F.M.C. Regulations Fall Short in the Face of Geopolitical Industry Disruptions, which has been printed in Issue 2 of Volume 49.

Prior to law school, Victoria graduated cum laude from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Education, majoring in Sports Industry and minoring in African & African American Studies. Serve served as an AmeriCorps Member, through the City Year-Columbus program, where she provided ELA co-teaching and socio-cultural intervention services to the students at Champion Middle School in East Columbus, OH.

Victoria touts invaluable in-house experience with industry leaders in ocean common carriage and offshore energy, as is reflected by her time as a Legal Intern with CMA CGM (America) LLC and a Legal Extern with Fugro (USA). While working with CMA CGM she reviewed and assisted in the negotiation of service contracts, managed the redrafting of the carrier’s Trucker Agreements, created a universal FMC docket tracker—utilized to organize ongoing proceedings and facilitate ease of identification of complaint trends and defenses. Victoria’s time at Fugro involved independently conducted legal risk assessment for the corporation’s land and marine project contracts, along with the review of accompanying vessel charter agreements. Victoria also boasts private practice experience, from her time as a Law Clerk for Lochner Law Firm, where her work focused on Jones Act & Marine Casualties Litigation..