HFW

We have again been ranked by The Times as one of the UK’s top commercial disputes practices. The Times described HFW as “a disputes powerhouse – [it] handles more commercial litigation in the English Commercial Court than any other law firm". The rankings are based on a survey of more than 4,300 solicitors across England, Wales, and Scotland. Less than 3% of law firms recommended by respondents made it into the final rankings. We have been ranked every year since The Times first published its report. We have more than 450 disputes lawyers across the Americas, Europe the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, specialising in high-value, complex, multi-party, and multi-jurisdictional disputes, with a particular focus on commercial litigation, fraud and asset recovery, insolvency, investigations, and enforcement actions. As well as advising on more commercial litigation in the English Commercial Court than any other law firm over the past nine years, we also have a higher win rate than any other top practice, and acted on more of the highest-value cases last year than any other firm. To find out more, visit: https://lnkd.in/e8eDWxEJ #CommercialDisputes #DisputeResolution #Litigation #CommercialLitigation #Arbitration #InternationalArbitration

This week, the HFW Aviation Finance team attended the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Asia Pacific conference in Singapore, where we were proud to be a sponsor of this year’s event.   It was a fantastic opportunity for our team to connect with clients and industry contacts, and we were left feeling energised by the exciting prospects ahead. We look forward to participating again next year!   David Brotherton, Justin Sun, Leigh Borrello, Ling Lui, Whitney Chan, Lorraine Chiu, Wassamon (Som) Puthipad, Janice Wong and Effariza Nurwati.   Find out more about our Aerospace capabilities, please visit: https://lnkd.in/e4c_4yaU.

In the October edition of HFW's Insurance Bulletin, we outline key updates from across the industry. In this edition: Ashwani Kochhar gives an overview of the Lloyd's Market Bulletin relating to advance consent to a number of commonly requested variations to vary the standard form of Managing Agent's Agreement. Rupert Warren and Rhys Durbin consider a recent judgment of the English Court of Appeal regarding a reinsurance claim relating to COVID-19 Nicola Gare provides an update on the English Arbitration Act. Read the full bulletin here: https://lnkd.in/eKX-PPG3 For more information on our global Insurance & Reinsurance capabilities, speak to Editor Will Reddie or Co-editor Kate Ayres, or visit: https://lnkd.in/giJ4PzD #Insurance #Reinsurance #ManagingAgentsAgreements #EnglishArbitrationAct

We have again been ranked by The Times as one of the UK’s top maritime practices. The Times commented that HFW is “a disputes powerhouse – [it] handles more commercial litigation in the English Commercial Court than any other law firm", and also noted our instructions on high-profile maritime matters such as the Ever Given's grounding in the Suez Canal and the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge, and our recent "big win" in the Supreme Court for the Republic of South Africa in a long-running dispute over the ownership of more than 2,000 bars of silver salvaged from a vessel sunk by a Japanese torpedo during the Second World War. The rankings are based on a survey of more than 4,300 solicitors across England, Wales, and Scotland. Less than 3% of law firms recommended by respondents made it into the final rankings. We have been ranked every year since The Times first published its report. Our market-leading global shipping practice comprises more than 220 shipping lawyers and  Master Mariners throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, specialising in dry shipping, admiralty and crisis management, and transactional work for clients across the industry. We have more top-tier rankings for shipping in legal directories Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 than any other law firm. To find out more, visit: https://lnkd.in/e4K8iewy #Shipping #ShippingIndustry #ShippingLaw #Maritime #MaritimeIndustry #MaritimeLaw

We have bolstered our global insurance group and continued the significant growth of our Australia business with the hire of Special Counsels Dominic Russell and Phillip Thomas in Sydney. Dominic specialises in complex commercial and employment litigation and investigations, enforcement of contractual restraints of trade, white collar crime and misconduct investigations. Phillip has more than ten years' experience advising clients in the insurance industry in relation to professional indemnity, building and construction, property damage, public liability, and policy coverage. HFW has now added three Special Counsel to its insurance group in Sydney since the beginning of FY24 following the arrival of insurance and litigation specialist Grant Covington - Gaudion from Omni Bridgeway in October 2023. Gavin Vallely, Managing Partner Australia, HFW, said: "Dominic and Phillip's appointments follow a series of hires we have made in Australia in the last 18 months as we continue to invest in our business and implement our growth plan." Chris Foster, Global Head of Insurance and Reinsurance, HFW, added: "As experienced practitioners with an impressive track record in litigation, Dominic and Phillip will make a valuable contribution to our global insurance group and our clients. They will work with our existing team of experts, which includes 20 partners and more than 60 lawyers located across the firm's international network." These hires continue a period of sustained expansion for HFW globally that has made it one of the fastest-growing law firms in the market. For more information, visit: https://lnkd.in/gG6A4_rU #InsuranceLaw #Insurance #HFWAustralia

In a world increasingly conscious of environmental impact, environmental adjectives or labels such as ‘sustainable’, ‘carbon-neutral’, ‘low-carbon’ or ‘green’ etc, have attracted a high degree of attention and critical discussion. There is also a growing recognition that it is imperative for the production of commodities and their supply chains (in particular those that are necessary for energy transition such as nickel and biomass) to be ‘sustainable’ or otherwise produced in a manner that is consistent with social, economic and ecological best practices.   In our latest briefing, HFW's Peter Zaman, Christopher Ong, Farah Majid and Geneieve Wu explore what a company may need to consider as part of its development of commodity products that benefit from certain attributes, whether environmental or impact-based.   You can read the full briefing here: https://lnkd.in/gMEerqwX   HFW is ranked Band 1 for Climate Change in Asia Pacific by Chambers and Partners. In addition to Peter Zaman, our team of climate change and energy transition experts includes Ruth Dawes, Jo Delaney, Jo Garland and Dan Perera. For more information on our offering, visit: https://lnkd.in/g2ZJmKQD. #GreenCommodity #ClimateChange #Sustainability #CarbonNeutral #LowCarbon

Following the US election, HFW's Matthew Gore and Jake Rickman examine the various geopolitical situations which continue to create material uncertainty for shippers and carriers alike. Though there was some evidence of stabilisation which was expected to feed through to modestly declining spot rates in the medium term, Donald Trump's election victory is likely to introduce further uncertainty as shippers may now try and pull forward cargo to avoid any tariffs Trump may enact following his inauguration in January 2025. This, in conjunction with an early Chinese New Year and the spectre of further labour strikes in early 2025, may lead to renewed upward pressure on rates. You can read the full briefing here: https://lnkd.in/ecEMswbe To discuss these issues, please speak to Matthew or your usual HFW contact. #Logistics #LogisticsIndustry #Shipping #ShippingIndustry

HFW's William Hold explores a recent judgment of the Swiss Supreme Court that upheld an arbitration agreement and unequivocally rejected Achmea and Komstroy Doctrine. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eZAsATPh   This article featured in our recent International Arbitration Quarterly, which you can read here: https://lnkd.in/exFMyc3X   To find out more about our dispute resolution practice, visit: https://lnkd.in/eaytVKt4   #InternationalArbitration #Arbitration #DisputeResolution #CommercialDisputes #SwissSupremeCourt

HFW's Tien Tai will be moderating a panel discussion at the ninth annual The Maritime Standard Tanker Conference 2024 taking place on 7 November. This year the main theme will be ‘Sustainable tanker shipping: Accelerating the Journey to Net Zero’ a topic that is highly topical and relevant.   Find out more: https://lnkd.in/dtiuqukZ   To find out more about Tien's practice, visit: https://lnkd.in/eTST9eRU   #SustainableTankerShipping #TankerShipping #Sustainability #NetZero #Shipping

HFW's Michael Ritter featured in the September 2024 issue of Maritime Risk International. He provides a helicopter view of salvage and general average in the context of Houthi and Somali attacks this year. With permission from Maritime Risk International. First published September 2024 on www.maritime-risk-intl.com To find out more about Michael's practice, visit: https://lnkd.in/ej4gwFnU Find out more about our Complex Environments capabilities, visit: https://lnkd.in/ewhVWFnR #Salvage #Shipping #MarineWarRisks #SalvageAndResponse #GeneralAverage #ComplexEnvironments