Editor's Column - Clive was eventually lured to the maritime field

IT’S not often maritime law is described as ‘exotic’ but that’s exactly what attracted Clive Van Aerde to the field early on in his career. Destined to follow his father’s footsteps into the family firm as a divorce and family lawyer, Clive was eventually lured to the maritime field having spent his childhood watching ships come and go in his home town of Ostend.

Lucy Budd talks to Clive in this issue about how he went on to single-handedly steer his father’s firm into the niche market of maritime law. Today it is the firm’s main specialisation, with only one lawyer still handling family law.

Michael Buckley is another lawyer who has stayed with the same firm his entire career. We caught up with him recently to find out how he shunned banking and insurance in favour of law and the chance to ‘save an innocent man from the hangman’s noose’.

Staying with the same firm - let alone the same profession - your entire career is something of a rarity today. But a quick flick through this issue just goes to show how varied and interesting a career in maritime law can be. Take Scotland, for example, which has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years as a venue for arbitration. So much so that 2005 should herald the arrival of the Arbitration (Scotland) Bill, making Scotland a potential and cost-effective alternative to London for maritime arbitration.

Meanwhile in South Africa, a favoured haven for ship arrest, a recent case before the Cape High Court in respect of a claim for contractual damages has had a significant impact on South Africa’s in rem arrest provisions.

It may not always be described as exotic, but there’s one thing maritime law certainly is – it is constantly changing. Long may it stay that way.

Suzanne Starbuck
editor