Norton Rose Fulbright’s global head of transport Harry Theochari takes the top slot in this year’s law list in recognition of his contribution to elevating the London-based shipping specialist onto the global stage
1. Harry Theochari, Norton Rose Fulbright
HARRY Theochari is one of the masterminds of Norton Rose Fulbright’s ascent from a London-based shipping specialist into a serious contender among the ranks of global corporate law firms.
Over the past 12 months, the global head of transport Mr Theochari, and his team have been particularly busy, completing the massive Danaos Corp restructuring and handling Toisa Chapter 11 administration in the US.
2. Vincent Power, European Maritime Law Organization
VINCENT Power will be fighting shipping’s corner in Brussels this year in his new role as chairman at the European Maritime Law Organization, where the industry’s established practices are frequently questioned by competition authorities.
In play in particular will be the European Association’s Consortia Block Exemption, which sets the rules for alliances between container lines, and which comes up for renewal one year from now.
3. Simon Rainey, Quadrant
QUADRANT barrister Simon Rainey QC earns his place after acting in some of the landmark shipping cases heard in London over the past year, most notably for the appellants in Ark v Silverburn.
In this case, the Court of Appeal overturned an earlier High Court ruling to establish there is no absolute obligation to maintain class under a bareboat charter, a decision with obvious implications for users of Barecon 89.
4. Gina Lee-Wan, Allen and Gledhill
ALLEN and Gledhill partner and maritime and aviation practice co-head Gina Lee-Wan is well-known and respected in the maritime community. Her practice involves contentious and non-contentious shipping and offshore matters.
She won the International Maritime Center (Individual) award at the Singapore International Maritime Awards 2019 and was also among the inaugural batch of select practitioners to be recognized as a senior accredited specialist in Maritime and Shipping Law by the Singapore Academy of Law.
5. Steven Berry, Essex Court
RENOS was one of the biggest shipping judgments of 2019, with the UK Supreme Court ruling that constructive total loss calculations should include all reasonable costs of salving and safeguarding a vessel from the time of a casualty onwards, yet exclude special compensation to salvors.
Both legal teams acquitted themselves well in arguing for their clients in what was inevitably a complex judgment.
6. Paul Dean, HFW
PAUL Dean worked his direction up from articles in 1988 to his current job as head of shipping at the law firm that claims to have more shipping partners than some others, with more than 200 dedicated practitioners.
HFW (the new branding for Holman Fenwick Willan) is expansion-minded, he said in an interview with Lloyd’s List earlier this year, and has recently assumed control over the old Ince and cooperation in Monaco, locks stock, and barrel.
7. Rita Al Semaani Jansen, Ince
INCE’S Rita Al Semaani Jansen is this year’s winner of the Lloyd’s List Lifetime Achievement Award at the Lloyd’s List South Asia, Middle East, and Africa region, in recognition of her groundbreaking work in empowering women in the maritime industry in the Middle East.
Ms. Jansen, a partner at Ince, has been with her employer since it was set up in Dubai in 2006, after previously working as a senior lawyer at Denton Wilde Sapte, Berrymans Lace Mawer, and Wellington Capital.
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