The next generation

WHETHER it’s the glamour of the travel, the drama of the courtroom, or the money that can be made, law continues to be a popular career choice among students. A small handful of these will shun the bright lights and high-profile cases of the corporate field in favour of a career in maritime law. One of the first decisions they will have to make is which firms to approach.

A flick through Legal 500 or Chambers and Partners will tell you that the firms operating in the maritime field are small in number compared to the plethora in the corporate arena. That’s not to say the choice is limited, but, with many young lawyers hoping to stay with their chosen firm for the duration of their career, which firm to target is a decision that can’t be taken lightly.

One of the most influential factors when targeting a firm is reputation. “Probably the most important factor for me was the level of experience the attorneys had in the maritime field,” says Pamela Whipple, associate attorney at New York-based DeOrchis & Partners. In the early stages of their career, trainees will work closely with partners, so working with the best can be a real career boost. “Several of the partners are well-known in the maritime field, particularly the senior partner Vincent DeOcrhis. It seemed like a good starting point for my career,” agrees colleague Mika Hallakorpi.

Equally important is the nature of the work handled by the firm. Shipping is a truly international industry, so cross-border disputes are commonplace. The complexity of these disputes is what attracts many young lawyers to the maritime field so, the more global the firm’s outlook, the better. “My goal was to find the company with the most diverse portfolio of shipping clients and cases. Wikborg Rein’s leading position in the maritime sector, and its thorough international focus, made the choice easy,” says Mats Saether, associate attorney at the firm’s Oslo office.

The final, and possibly most important, criterion in the search for the ultimate firm is training. Law is a notoriously competitive field to break into. Students have to work long and hard to achieve the qualifications they need to secure a position. But before they do so, they have to endure an arduous and rigorous recruitment process. “It was difficult to get a training contract in a good law firm in London,” recalls Ian Fisher, assistant solicitor at Ince & Co. “In the year I applied there were about 2,000 applications for nine jobs. The application process itself was challenging.”

Given the journey they have to make to get there, and the loyalty they hope to show to the firm, selecting one with a good training programme is vital. All too often trainees are used as extra pairs of hands on large cases, often thrown at cases with little guidance or support. Either that or they get heavily involved in a case only for it to be taken away when they move to sit with another partner. “I was looking for a medium-sized firm which would give me responsibility from an early stage and with good opportunities to progress,” says Jonathan Goldfarb, also of Ince & Co. “As with all other law firms, finding a good training contract took a good deal of preparation and effort.”

For most, all that preparation and effort pays off. They secure good trainee positions and start on the path towards becoming leading maritime lawyers. But what if their careers don’t turn out as expected? What if their jobs don’t give them the satisfaction they are looking for?

“Solicitors move firms for all sorts of reasons, but the main one at the moment seems to be because they want to go somewhere where they can diversify out of pure traditional dry shipping litigation work and take on a broader caseload,” says Marina Emden of maritime recruitment specialist Spinnaker Consulting. But with the volume of wet and casualty work falling, the options may be limited.

For many young lawyers, the decision to pursue a career in the maritime field stems from a love of the sea. Although early on in their career they are keen to concentrate on shipping matters, the ability to spread their wings into other areas of law is an important part of their long-term career plan. “In the future I would like to continue to work on more varied matters, ultimately branching out into other full-service areas such as immigration and environmental law,” says Whipple.

As Areti Arvaniti, senior associate at Roussos & Hatzidimitriou Law Offices, says, while she would like to stay with one firm rather than change firms throughout her career, “this depends on many factors, primarily the ability of the firm to meet my expectations and satisfy my needs at the various stages of my career”.

But it works both ways. Not only are lawyers looking for greater diversity, firms are too. According to Emden, today it is about more than just being a good lawyer. “Firms look for someone who will be good at developing business. It’s about showing that you have the potential to bring in work through marketing initiatives and networks,” she says. For lawyers already snowed under with casework, adding marketing to their job description is unlikely to be welcomed.

Lawyers also continue to face one of the biggest challenges of the modern working world – striking the right balance between their private lives and work. Elsewhere in this issue we talk to some lawyers who have managed to do just that. But shipping takes place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. “It is our policy to be available to clients at all times,” says Candice Meyer, senior associate at Bowman Gilfillan Findlay & Tait in Cape Town. Maritime lawyers often have to be on call 24 hours a day – a concept young lawyers have to learn to adapt to.

“So far I have managed to find a balance between work and my personal life,” says Babet Reinders, attorney at law with AKD Prinsen Van Wijmen in Rotterdam. “It occurs from time to time that something urgent has to be done, and priority has to be given to work outside dedicated working hours, but I don’t see that as a problem. I enjoy having a job that is sometimes irregular and unforeseeable – it makes it more exciting and varied.”

Most young lawyers agree that, at first, it can be difficult to find the right balance. They often feel obliged to put in long hours, sometimes unnecessarily, especially if their firm issues targets for billable hours. With time, however, you soon learn to identify where your priorities lie. “At the beginning, things at work are usually hectic due to your lack of experience and confidence. You tend to devote a lot of time to every single aspect of the case you have been assigned – even to things which are of minor or no importance,” says Arvaniti. “As time passes you acquire a more critical and penetrating eye which allows you to use time more effectively.”

A law firm is only ever as good as its lawyers so, when it comes to recruiting the next generation, investing time and effort is vital. Young lawyers looking to enter the maritime profession today want a varied caseload, responsibility and the chance to branch out into other areas as their careers progress - but without having to change firms or sacrifice their private life. Has your firm got what it takes to attract the cream of the crop?