HFW‘s regulatory and commercial practice ensures that clients ’always feel one step ahead’. William MacLachlan has extensive expertise handling non-contentious mandates, as well as matters relating to transactional aspects of shipping, namely passenger vessels; further, he is experienced in handling an array of ship management and operation work. Claire Womersley harnesses a notable specialism in work pertaining to the cruise ship and ferry sector, handling litigation and crisis management matters therein. Womersley and MacLachlan co-head the team alongside Zohar Zik. Caroline Murphy is well-equipped to handle shipping-related disputes, including those regarding charterparties, bills of lading and shipbuilding, while Kirsten Wright specialises in advising yacht and cruise ship owners on collisions, injuries, and fatalities that have occurred at sea. Alex Sayegh is also noteworthy for his transactional shipping work, as is Gudmund Bernitz, who has a shipping finance specialism. Zik's former co-head Elinor Dautlich departed to Hannaford Turner LLP in January 2024.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘HFW has experience and capabilities in all fields of transport.’
‘An excellent team of partners and associates.’
Key clients
- Isles of Scilly Steamship Company Limited
- Middle Eastern airline
Work highlights
- Advising the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group and their subsidiaries on their complex and strategically essential fleet renewal programme.
- Advised a Middle Eastern airline on its proposed extended cooperation with a successful domestic Indian low-cost airline.