Law Office of
Roger E. Sowell
attorney OSHA lawyer law refinery defense attorney engineer explosion safety Clean Air Act 112 chemical
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CONTACT: 4640 Admiralty Way Suite 500 Marina del Rey, CA 90292 office: (310) 496-5826 fax: (310) 496-5701 email rsowell@resowell-law.com
For commentary, cases, and articles on legal matters of importance to Engineers, visit Sowell's Law Blog.
| Overview Roger Sowell is a California attorney and holds a B.S. in chemical engineering. He advises, represents, and defends operating companies in civil matters related to process safety, environmental and other regulatory matters. As an attorney who understands engineers, he also works with other attorneys on matters where expert witnesses and technical lay witnesses are involved, such as deposing and cross-examining expert witnesses. Before opening his law office, he worked for 20 years in more than 75 refineries and petrochemical plants in a dozen countries on four continents. His engineering work covered a wide array, including design, process and project engineering, consulting studies for profit improvement, construction supervision and startup, maintenance, advanced process control, refinery process simulation and optimization, environmental compliance, and hazardous operations analysis and response, to name but a few. Legal matters of engineers and engineering are the focus of Roger Sowell’s practice. When engineers need an attorney, or another party has a legal complaint against an engineer, obtaining an attorney who understands engineers and engineering is very important. Mr. Sowell has that understanding gained from more than 20 years as an engineer, and handles a broad range of legal matters. Engineers in the process industries face liability for process safety in design, modifications, hazard identification, operating and maintenance procedures, training, supervision, and others. Environmental regulations are important issues for engineers in the process industries. Other regulations apply to process industries, both at the federal, state, and local level. Industrial accidents create legal issues for engineers, including liability for personal injury, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, products liability in design, manufacturing, labeling, distribution, alterations, and product uses. Other issues include Strict Liability such as explosives and radiation hazards. Engineers face contractual issues in preventing or resolving conflicts with clients, owners, consultants, specialists, constructors, suppliers, government agencies, and public stakeholders, in both private and public works projects. Intellectual Property rights involve many engineers, including Inventions, Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, and Trade Secrets. There may be international considerations, Infringement and defenses to infringement, Licensing, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Indemnity issues, and others. Mr. Sowell is not yet licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but handles all other issues of intellectual property. Resolving all issues in the best manner for the client is paramount. Most matters can be negotiated and settled without a trial. But, when litigation is required, Mr. Sowell conducts all the litigation issues, including assessing a complaint, settlement negotiations, discovery of all types, special and form interrogatories, electronic discovery, information privacy issues, privileged information, depositions, trial preparation, witness preparation, expert witnesses, evidentiary issues, trial and appeals. In Construction projects, legal issues may include Changed Conditions, Delays, Change Orders, Force Majeur, Claims, Arbitration and Mediation, Litigation, Insurance and Bonding. Engineers also have Business issues, such as working as a sole practitioner, creating partnerships, incorporating, forming limited liability entities, advertising, and internet issues.
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