In Camera - Launch his maritime career

LITTLE did Jan Theunis know that it would be his knowledge of geography that would launch his maritime career. In fact, despite studying for a law degree, he had no intention of ever entering the legal field. Philosophy was his first love but, having realised that to enter the philosophy field you had to wait for a professor to die, law won through.

Jan's career began as a trainee, firstly with an Antwerp-based firm and then with a leading firm in Brussels. When the Brussels firm received an instruction to arrest a vessel as it passed Flushing, Jan was the only one in the office who knew that Flushing was a town. The file was passed to him and his maritime career was born.

That was nearly thirty years ago. Since then, Jan has seen the face of maritime law in Belgium, and indeed worldwide, change considerably. One of the greatest changes he has witnessed is in the type of cases he handles. "For example, when I began my career, I used to see somewhere between twenty and thirty banana cases each year," he says. "In the last ten years I have hardly seen any - a clear sign of how the industry has become more technically refined."

Thanks to the European Commission, Jan is also increasingly handling customs-related issues. And it is this constantly evolving nature of maritime law that brings us to investment. "The industry changes so much, you always have to try and anticipate new problems your clients may be confronted with. This means being proactive and investing heavily in knowledge," says Jan.

Keeping a close eye on what's happening - not only in Europe, but internationally too - is vital. Being involved in different organisations helps, as Jan finds in his role as vice-president of the Belgium Maritime Law Association and as an active member of CMI. "Cases are also becoming more complex," he explains. "Ten years ago you could rely on your experience. Not any more. Cases today have so many aspects, only by investing in know-how can you ensure you are one step ahead of the competition."

Talking of competition, while a number of UK firms have developed their business in France and Germany, Belgium, as yet, remains untouched. But that may change. Jan says, "UK firms have been testing the water. And although there is no sign of them entering the Belgian market at the moment, our port structure is changing dramatically and, with eighty per cent of the leading port operator in Singaporean hands, the UK's interest in Belgium may be rekindled." Not only that. Jan can also foresee more integration between maritime law firms in Antwerp, Rotterdam and Germany's Ruhr region, which together make up the biggest distribution triangle in the world.

But, of course, new firms need new lawyers and, as in so many parts of the world, attracting young blood is proving difficult. "Maritime law is not a very well-known or very popular area of law at our universities," says Jan. "Students tend to think that maritime law is not progressing and is therefore not something to build a career on."

Theunis & D'Hoine gets round this by visiting the universities and speaking to the students themselves. By showing them what the firm does, the type of work they deal with and the variety and complexity of law on offer, it is hoped that more students will seek out a career in maritime law, and hopefully in Belgium. "It is important to show them that, although we are a small firm, we operate like a big one," says Jan.

But not just anyone can become a maritime lawyer. As far as Jan is concerned, not only do you need a sense of humour, you also need to be humble. On top of that you need a good brain and an open mind. "It is important to remember," he explains, "that maritime law is one of the most difficult areas of the legal field. Many times I have seen maritime lawyers who are able to tackle problems in other areas of the law, but never the other way round."

Today, much of Jan's work revolves around what he calls the 'engineering' of maritime and transport issues. What used to be straightforward cases involving cargoes and ships now make up only about thirty per cent of his work. Having said that, one of the advantages of practising in Belgium is that most people there still prefer to litigate, and litigation is one of Jan's passions. To date, alternative dispute resolution has had no impact on the Belgian market - "God knows why," adds Jan.

In the meantime, he enjoys being in the position to select cases that he is particularly interested in. His firm, Theunis & D'Hoine, is made up of one other senior partner and a number of junior partners. By staying small and specialised they can meet the demands of their clients. "Clients in Belgium, as well as large international corporate clients, like to use small, well-trained groups of people. That way they know we can be flexible and competitive," he says.

Jan admits that, like many of his colleagues, if he could change one thing about the maritime industry it would be to speed up the enforcement process for new legislation. "The time taken to draft and change legislation is very frustrating," he says. "If CMI could, for example, finalise its draft instrument and make it applicable worldwide, I would be a happy man." Jan is also personally taking initiatives to combine existing efforts by international organisations to integrate electronic versions of all documents used in the logistics chain.

When he's not busy doing all this, Jan finds pleasure in music. Although not a musician himself, he enjoys listening to music, which may explain why, if he wasn't a lawyer, he would love to be an orchestra conductor. "One day," he recalls, "I was in a restaurant and the man sat next to me had this huge book at his side. When I asked what it was, he opened it to reveal the score for an entire opera. He was a conductor. That huge volume of music was stored in his head - amazing".

When music isn't helping Jan get away from it all, sailing is. "Sailing is another of my passions. It is so intense, you always come back with a fresh mind," he says.

Maybe it is his fresh mind that makes Jan one of Belgium's leading maritime lawyers. That, and a real passion for the sea and the law. Whatever it is, the maritime industry should think itself lucky that Jan wasn't able to find a dead philosophy professor in time.