Senior Shipping Litigation Associate

Senior Associate – Maritime & Offshore Disputes

Location: London

Team: Maritime & Offshore

Level: Senior Associate

PQE: 3+ PQE

The Opportunity

An opportunity has arisen for an experienced Senior Associate to join a leading international Maritime & Offshore practice in London.

The successful candidate will work across a number of partners within the team, gaining exposure to sophisticated international shipping and offshore disputes and major clients operating throughout the global maritime sector.

The position offers substantial responsibility for matters, direct client exposure and the opportunity to develop further within one of the market’s established maritime practices.

The Work

The role will predominantly involve contentious maritime and commercial shipping work, including:

• Charterparty disputes, including time and voyage charterparties
• Bills of lading and contracts of carriage
• Cargo disputes
• Demurrage, detention, laytime and performance disputes
• Hire and off-hire disputes
• Unsafe port and berth claims
• Vessel operational and contractual disputes
• P&I and marine insurance-related matters
• LNG and energy transportation disputes
• Offshore and specialist vessel disputes
• Maritime decarbonisation and associated contractual issues
• English High Court litigation
• London and international arbitration
• Mediation and alternative dispute resolution

There will also be opportunities to work on offshore matters, including disputes involving specialist vessels, FPSOs, FSRUs, offshore support vessels and offshore energy infrastructure.

Clients

The team acts for a broad international client base including:

• Shipowners and operators
• Charterers
• P&I Clubs
• Hull and marine insurers
• Energy and LNG businesses
• Offshore operators and contractors
• Cargo interests
• Logistics and transportation businesses

Responsibilities

The Senior Associate will take significant responsibility for matters and work with different partners across the practice, depending upon the nature of the case.

Responsibilities will include:

• Managing a varied caseload of shipping and maritime disputes
• Working closely with partners on complex and high-value matters
• Taking increasing ownership of matters and developing case strategy
• Providing clear, practical and commercially focused advice to clients
• Drafting substantive legal advice, pleadings, witness statements and arbitration submissions
• Analysing charterparties, bills of lading and other maritime contracts
• Managing counsel, experts and overseas lawyers
• Managing litigation and arbitration timetables
• Participating in settlement negotiations and mediations
• Developing direct relationships with clients
• Supervising and supporting junior lawyers where appropriate
• Contributing to client seminars, legal updates and industry initiatives
• Participating in business development and developing relationships across the international maritime market

Candidate Profile

Candidates should ideally have 3+ years’ PQE with a strong background in contentious shipping or maritime work.

The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate:

• Strong experience of shipping disputes
• Knowledge of charterparties and bills of lading
• Experience of English litigation and/or London arbitration
• Experience acting for shipowners, charterers, P&I Clubs and/or marine insurers
• Strong drafting and analytical skills
• Commercial understanding of the shipping industry
• Confidence communicating directly with clients
• The ability to manage matters with increasing autonomy
• The ability to work effectively with different partners and teams
• An interest in taking greater responsibility for matters and client relationships
• The ability to supervise and support more junior lawyers

Additional experience in marine insurance, LNG, offshore or major casualty-related disputes would be advantageous.

International Exposure

This is a genuinely international practice, with matters frequently involving multiple jurisdictions and parties operating across the world’s major shipping centres.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with international shipowners, operators, charterers, insurers and P&I Clubs, as well as lawyers and experts across multiple jurisdictions.

Career Development

The role provides an attractive opportunity for a shipping disputes lawyer who wants to combine high-quality technical work with increasing responsibility and client exposure.

At Senior Associate level, there will be an expectation that the successful candidate progressively develops beyond pure matter execution and takes greater responsibility for:

case strategy → matter management → client relationships → junior supervision → business development → their own profile within the maritime market.

The breadth of the practice and opportunity to work across different partners rather than being attached exclusively to one partner should provide strong exposure to different clients, types of disputes and approaches to practice.