The UK still rules the area of shipping law, but to remain in its traditional pole position its main players are having to adapt to the realities of the modern world and the challenges provided by competitors.
English law is the common currency of the shipping companies. Despite the massive reductions in the UK's mercantile fleet, its law still appears to prevail, with foreign companies
still largely preferring to deal in this long-established system.
One of Curtis Davis Garrard's founding partners, Mark Davis, explains its continuing pre-eminence. "Shipping requires a neutral venue and a neutral law that is seen as reliable and unimpeachable," he says. "English law and the English courts are relied upon to be impartial and fair." This is not to say other jurisdictions have not tried to rival the UK's long-held supremacy. New York, which shares common law roots and a bustling maritime sector, has long tried to muscle in on the legal work, but economic pressures currently undermine
its attempts.
Richards Butler shipping manager, Adam Morgan, says: "Shipping companies are generally keen to save money and there is a downward pressure on fees, which is of genuine concern to New York's maritime legal community.
"They cannot afford to pay the going rate associated with New York corporate firms or the salaries found in Silicon Valley."
He admits the difference is not yet so pronounced in the UK, but it is a trend that could also hit here. He says this is why City firms such as Herbert Smith have abandoned the market.
"You cannot be a City firm and charge rates that the shipping market expects," he adds.
Consequently, the market has consolidated down to the traditional shipping firms such as Holman Fenwick & Willan, Ince & Co and Clyde & Co, which are grouped around Lloyd's of London. Other big law firms have also developed recognised shipping practices, including Stephenson Harwood and Lawrence Graham. But there are a considerable number of law firms that act as niche operators, fixing on a narrow range of services. These include Curtis Davis Garrard, which was established four years ago.
The established players are taking the battle abroad and two areas are hot: China and Greece. Shanghai, the commercial heart of Communist China, has opened up far more to foreign trade. This and the inevitable increase in shipping activity has persuaded two UK firms to open offices there during the past year.
Ince & Co was granted a licence to practise in the city this summer and established an office under Peter Murray, who worked for Sinclair Roche & Temperley. He has spent 20 years in Southeast Asia in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Seven years ago, he opened up the first UK offices in the city for his previous firm. He says: "If you want to find the most exciting place in the world for a maritime lawyer, it has to be Shanghai because of the changes that are taking place here. They have done a lot in a short period of time."
The pace of development reminds him of Hong Kong when the former colony underwent similar trade expansion, and with China applying for membership of the World Trade Organisation, he can only see things getting busier. His firm represents foreign and Chinese companies, with much work to be found on the 'wet' side of the business. In the shipping market generally, improved navigational technology has reduced the level of wet work as collisions become less frequent. But Murray says this is not the experience in China.
"More trade leads to more collisions, which is one of the main expansion areas in China's seas," he says. "This leads to work investigating the collisions and arranging the exchange of securities between the shipowners involved."
If cases have to be heard in the Chinese courts then local lawyers will be instructed and it is clear from Murray that the Chinese are keen not only to take on English expertise but to develop their own system based on its model. "The Chinese courts want to provide similar judicial expertise as found in England and want their judges and lawyers to be up to scratch," he says. "If a collision occurs in Shanghai, it makes sense to hear the case there."
Given China's sheer size, its arrival as a trading superpower could have ramifications for English law's dominance. Murray notes: "I do not think China will be a rival, but it is bound to become an equally important reference point as there will be considerably more cases arising in China than the UK."
Ince and Co's enthusiasm for Shanghai is shared by rival shipping law firm Holman Fenwick & Willan, which opened its operation more than a year ago. But Holman Fenwick partner James Gosling warns that it is hard to get the necessary licence, although those with a long history of working with the Chinese will have a definite edge. Gosling notes: "The big firms without contacts in China are going to find it difficult to get established. People think you can you can just come to the country, shake hands and it will open up. This is a bit naive."
This is why he thinks Ince & Co was astute to take on Murray, with his established contacts in the area. "To get a licence is a highly bureaucratic business, the Chinese like to know who they are getting into bed with. So it is important to have an experienced 'China hand' on board," says Gosling.
Shanghai might be opening up as a new area for business, but there are problems afoot closer to home. Greece, with its strong maritime heritage, has long provided a rich source of work for English companies which, with the country's entry into the EU during the mid-1980s, began opening offices in the main port of Piraeus to serve their client base more directly. The local Bar has been fighting back and is trying to get foreign firms ruled illegal. Stephenson Harwood's head of shipping, Simon Tatham, believes it could be a clever move on their part. He says: "In the long run, the publicity might be helpful to them in putting Piraeus on the map."
Others believe this local difficulty will soon blow over. Gosling points out that the UK firms in Piraeus are only advising on English and not Greek law and the EU could shipwreck the locals on the basis of its free trade provisions.
But it is a case of perceived protectionism in the UK that creases his brow even more. The concept of multidisciplinary partnerships (MDPs) is more readily associated with accountants' tied law firms, but Gosling argues it is an issue equally pertinent to shipping, where master mariners are an integral part of the team. To become a partner, the Law Society requires a person to be a graduate and a qualified solicitor. Some former mariners do go through this process, but Gosling argues that the issue needs to be addressed and skilled professionals should get partnership without any delay – Holman Fenwick already gives them equivalent status.
But he says the partnership issue deters many non-legal professionals from joining law firms.
"They say 'why should I give up a big salary and respected position to come ashore and lose all that to become a trainee solicitor?' They risk five years of their careers to become a partner."