We have further increased our growing body of readers and contributors

THANK YOU for subscribing to and reading The Maritime Advocate.With this, our eighth edition, we have further increased our growing body of readers and contributors.

We are always interested in good copy, and we invite readers to submit articles for consideration. Better still, pick up the telephone and talk to us about your ideas, or send us an email.

Our aim is to make maritime law more accessible to our readers in the shipping community at large around the world. Our readers tell us they like articles that are written in a down-to-earth, easy-to-read style. One might call this humanising the law, or putting oneself in the shoes of the client.

There are some good examples of that in this issue. Delphine Chen talks to us about maritime law in Taiwan, and Fulvia Linari, president of WISTA, shares her vision of the organisation that celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary in London this October.

Jose Sabatino brings us up-to-date with P&I matters in Venezuela, and there is an overview of judiciary reforms in Nigeria by Yemi Candide-Johnson. Jeb Clulow from Durban writes about claims against charterers in our regular Learning the Ropes column, and Bob Gruendal has written the Loose Change feature on how to fund and manage port developments.

The USMLA centenary celebrations in New York are reviewed and there is a preview of what to expect at Maritime Cyprus at the beginning of October.

The Maritime Advocate is proud of its international outlook and coverage, and we want to hear from our readers wherever they are. But there are a couple of basic points to remember. The only way to get your article published as written is to write the correct number of words in the first place. Some lawyers, like some journalists, are paid by the number of words they write. But there is no point in writing three times the agreed amount of copy, and then complaining about editorial cuts. The ground rules for publication are articles that stick to the length and the topic agreed with the editor.

If you are a subscriber you can access the current issue and all back issues of The Maritime Advocate. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can find subscription details on the website or simply fill in the form in this issue of the magazine. You can also read back issues, but not the current issue - for that we need your subscription.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of The Maritime Advocate and, in advance, to those of you who will contribute to future issues.
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