Thought Leader: Alexis Cahalan and Danella Wilmshurst on Admiralty & Maritime Law

Having recently launched a new office in Sydney, directed at providing legal services throughout the Australasian region, fast-growing international law group Thomas Miller talks to Lawyer Monthly about its thought leadership as a firm, and introduces two expert partners with plenty of experience in the admiralty & maritime sector, who will be managing the new Thomas Miller Australia branch.

Thomas Miller Law Australia is part of a new and innovative approach to delivering legal services pioneered by Thomas Miller, the leading provider of professional, insurance and financial services to the marine and logistics sectors. Thomas Miller Law has been operating in England since early 2015 and now serves the Asia Pacific region through Thomas Miller Law Australia, based in Sydney.

 

So what’s new about the approach?

Thomas Miller Law Australia delivers legal services using a modern, commercial business model, without the costs and constraints of the traditional professional services approach. The Thomas Miller Group has some 135 years of experience in delivering financial insurance and risk services to the maritime and logistics sector globally. Drawing on this experience, Thomas Miller Law was developed to deliver specialised legal services in a way which answered growing calls in the market for a revised and modern service and contemporary cost model.

While Thomas Miller Law Australia can draw on the global network and vast technical expertise of the Thomas Miller Group, it operates independently, serving a diverse range of marine and logistics clients within Australia and the Asia Pacific region, as well as those from further afield doing business here. Clients of Thomas Miller Law Australia need not have any connection to any other Thomas Miller Group business services.

The principal lawyers heading up Thomas Miller Law Australia are Alexis Cahalan and Danella Wilmshurst. Both have extensive experience in maritime and logistics law having practised at Australia’s top tier maritime firms over many years. Their experience encompasses regulatory and commercial work as well as commercial dispute resolution and is enhanced by an in depth industry knowledge and experience.

 

Can you talk LM through your previous experience at maritime and transport firms and how this brought you to where you are today?

For many years I was a solicitor with Ebsworth & Ebsworth and subsequently with Norton Smith & Co where I became the first female partner in the Transport and Insurance Group. I went on to become one of the founding partners of Norton White, transport lawyers. I also spent some time working for a large London shipping firm, which was invaluable experience in the international shipping and London insurance markets, before completing my master of laws in International Commercial Arbitration.

Experience gained as a solicitor translated well when I became in house legal counsel for an offshore mineral exploration company, establishing operations in many Asian and Pacific jurisdictions. More recently, I have been based in the Sydney office of the TT Club, Thomas Miller’s ports and logistics insurer, delivering immediate legal commercial solutions on a day-today basis with transport and logistic operators in the region.

 

Can you detail some of the cases you have worked on in this sector and how your expertise helped towards their successes?

Working in the transport sector often involves reacting to the whole range of issues which arise on a daily basis in the transport industry. These can range from:

• Container handling and stevedoring incidents including dealing with disposal of hazardous cargoes;

• Advising on port authority emergency responses and operational responsibilities;

• Road haulage regulations and incidents;

• Advisory on insurance coverage;

• Drafting and advising on trade terms and conditions;

• Advising on regulations which apply to international vessels coming into Australia and those operating domestically;

• Meeting the demands of cargo owners affected by maritime disasters such as vessels running aground;

• Advising on Border Force Infringement notices;

• Assisting with the removal of injured crew from vessels and organising medical assistance and repatriation; and

• Extensive experience in personal injury incidents arising across the transport system.

Australia’s island economy, geographical diversity of ports and trades and export-led economy mean that shipping and logistics are central to our everyday lives, so the problems we help with every day feel important in a very real way. It is exciting to be part of an industry which underlies our economy and is also at the cutting edge of many legal developments.

 

Can you talk LM through your previous experience at maritime and transport firms and how this brought you to where you are today?

I have been fortunate in that my previous experience has been at a number of Australia’s best recognised maritime firms including Norton Smith & Co, Norton White and Ebsworth & Ebsworth (now HWL Ebsworth).

For most of my career I have worked in full commercial service firms, with the exception of Norton White Lawyers & Notaries which was established in 1999 as a specialist shipping practice.

Over time, I have come to believe that the sector is best served by a dedicated and specialised practice structure where the sector clients are the sole focus for our legal services.

Admiralty & Maritime Law In this model, which is the Thomas Miller Law Australia approach, our personnel, knowledge resources and cost structures are focused and can be flexible to fit the needs of the industry.

 

Can you detail some of the cases you have worked on in this sector and how your expertise helped towards their successes?

Over the last 20 years I have worked on a high number of diverse, interesting and challenging matters. Having specialist expertise is very important in just about every admiralty and maritime matter as clients expect commercial and cost effective outcomes. Knowledge and experience of the industry and the specialised areas of the law are essential in identifying key issues at an early stage, improving the chances of reaching a commercial solution quickly. Many maritime matters are subject to significant time imperatives given the nature of shipping and international trade and so there is rarely time or opportunity to develop the necessary knowledge and experience ‘on the job’.

Some of the highlights for me have been:

• Acting for mortgagee obtaining USD70M default judgment against owners of the HAI SHI in favour of the mortgagee Bank and effecting the arrest and judicial sale of the vessel. Priority issued between creditors were resolved by agreement and the vessel sale effected with approximately 3 months of initial interest;

• Acting for Bank in major refinancing transaction for Bermudan shipping and offshore facility operator in managing the Australian law and asset security aspects of USD400M deal;

• Advising a Singaporean entity on the Australian regulatory frameworks in relation to port security and border control as well as shipping regulation relevant to an offshore asset acquisition;

• Acting in relation to the grounding of a Greek registered bulk carrier including GA and salvage award claims and litigation against vessel owners arising from failures in the vessel’s SMS and negligent navigation; and

• Acting in relation to a collision between a Panamanian bulk carrier and a local Australian fishing vessel which caused the fishing vessel to founder off the North Queensland coast. The case included issues of economic loss and remoteness of damage.

 

What are the goals for the firm in Australasia, given its new regional expansion in this sector?

The goals we have set for Thomas Miller Law Australia are both audacious and exciting. Thomas Miller Law Australia aspires to offer a different approach to legal services, providing them as a dedicated business service and undertaking to continue to invest in our own expertise, innovation and technology solutions for the benefit of our clients.

Thomas Miller Law Australia’s key objective is the delivery of legal services which are first-class in their quality and effectiveness, and modern and efficient in their pricing. The Thomas Miller Law Australia approach aligns perfectly with my own professional goals- to develop and maintain my specialised expertise, and put it to the best and widest possible use in our unique, dynamic and truly global sector.