“Plague, pestilence, famine and floods” are, says Hill Taylor Dickinson shipping partner John Evans, a sign of flourishing times for shipping lawyers.

The freight market, as one lawyer put it, is “abysmally low” and events like the crisis in Asia have led to a significant downturn in world trade. But while the shipping industry itself may be in the doldrums, it does not necessarily follow that shipping lawyers are also suffering.