Chasing the pack

BEING home to the world's largest ship register, Panama's maritime law firms enjoy a steady stream of work involving registrations and transactions. Maybe that's why an increasing number of law firms from the UK and the US are setting up shop there. Whatever the reason, "they are a welcome addition to the overall image of Panama as a maritime centre," according to Dr Enrique de Alba, shipping partner at Panama-based law firm Morgan & Morgan.

But do the local law firms in Panama have anything to fear from the new arrivals? It would appear not. "Panama's local firms are not only well- structured, they are well-connected too," says de Alba. "We welcome the foreign firms. After all, competition is healthy. Without competition you can't grow and stay at the forefront of your field."

Staying at the forefront of the international maritime law field is the main driving force behind a number of developments in Panama's maritime sector. Possibly the most significant development is the opening of Panama's second maritime court. The first maritime court was launched in 1982 but, by the mid-1990s, it was clearly straining under the volume of cases coming through its doors.

"It is hoped that the new court will help speed up the handling of cases, which is currently taking far too long," says de Alba. Revisions to Panama's Maritime Procedural Code are also under way to help Panama compete with other leading maritime dispute resolution centres such as the US and the UK.

However, there is one area in which Panama remains far behind the market leaders, and that's arbitration and ADR. While maritime arbitration and mediation have been quietly taking elsewhere, Panama remains reluctant to embrace the new methods. "To date, the use of ADR in maritime disputes in Panama has been zero," according to de Alba.

"Panama does have a well-established and well-used arbitration centre for dealing with commercial and civil disputes, but the maritime sector has not taken it up as yet." One of the reasons for this is that Panamanian lawyers know how proceedings take place before their courts, and using ADR to solve maritime disputes is an innovation the lawyers still need to trust. With the arrival of the second maritime court expected to significantly speed things up, ADR is not predicted to make inroads in Panama in the immediate future.

That's not to say that Panama's lawyers aren't open to new ideas, though. Continuous professional development and education is encouraged and widely practised among the local maritime law fraternity. Only by keeping up-to-date with new legal developments and changes can Panama hope to maintain its competitive share, believes de Alba. And this is one of the reasons why ADR appeared on the programme at the recent Panama Maritime conference.

The mock arbitration, involving some of the highest-profile names in the business, was, according to de Alba, a huge success. And, not only did over 300 delegates travel to witness, discuss and debate Panama's maritime future, the country's president, Mireya Moscoso, was on hand to open the conference and award the first Panama Maritime Excellency Award, which this year went to Mitsui OSK Line.

Events such as these are helping to boost the profile of Panama's shipping industry not only worldwide but much closer to home too. As a past professor, de Alba was quick to point out the increased interest that Panama's students are showing in the shipping industry as a career path. As a result, the last few years have seen two of Panama's universities, including the State University of Panama, launch new Masters degrees specialising in maritime law.

It's not hard to see why foreign law firms have pinpointed Panama as a lucrative place to set up. With the ongoing development of the canal, new maritime courts and a shake-up of its shipping code, Panama is building itself an exciting maritime future.