THE beginning of the year is a natural time for reflection and planning for new beginnings

THE beginning of the year is a natural time for reflection and planning for new beginnings. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the world order changed last year. We have all read enough articles and editorials to agree that, at the very least, the events of September 11 made us rethink our priorities.

In this issue we cover the USMLA fall meeting in San Diego at which it was a privilege, as well as great fun, to interview the urbane John Woods, head of maritime and insurance at Thacher Proffitt in New York. "On September 11, we lost one hundred and fifty three years of our firm's history in just twenty minutes", he says. Thankfully, Thacher Proffitt didn't lose any staff in the attack on its WTC offices, and what struck me most throughout the interview with John was his optimism. This was "an amazing opportunity for the firm because our history is still intact. Sure, we lost a few oil paintings, but no people. Now we have a blank canvass to paint," he says.

John's optimism is matched by his sense of humour. The interview was full of laughter as well as the telling of the story of how Thacher Proffitt survived the terrorist attacks. At a particularly moving moment, John looked across the table to find me struggling to contain the tears streaming from my eyes. "I was quite taken aback," he said afterwards, "I knew I had a certain effect on women, but I had never before made one cry at breakfast."

The fact was that the smoked salmon bagel with a schmear of cream cheese also contained freshly chopped onions, which I had somehow rubbed into my eyes. Too embarrassed - and not wanting to stop the flow of the conversation - I struggled on, wishing I knew John well enough to utter a profanity and rush to the ladies room to sort out the offending eyes.

Once I had confessed, we laughed a lot. And I was struck by how important a sense of humour is in tackling life's difficult - and thus defining - moments.

One senses that the USMLA gathering at the Hotel Coronado will go down in the records as a special event. There were certainly some somber and moving moments, particularly during the service of commemoration that opened the meeting in Coronado. There was also a lot of laughter, and confirmation that the maritime law fraternity in the US has come through scratched but not irreparably scathed. We wish them well.

And now to the rest of the world. As usual, in this issue we have articles from around the world, including an overview of maritime law in Germany, ship arrest in Latvia, rules governing salvage under French law and a feature on ELSA (the European Law Students Association). We also have articles from Malta, Italy, Panama, and South Africa.

Thank you for your continued support. Please keep your subscriptions flowing in.

Georgina Noakes