At the Bar - Suzanne Starbuck gets literary with Nils Thommessen

Today, as an attorney at law at Oslo-based Wiersholm, Mellbye & Bech, Nils is accustomed to being busy. Until just a few months ago, he was also head of the shipping department at Wiersholm until his workload forced him to step down.

Over a cold beer and a long gin and tonic, Nils explained how he didn't always want to be a maritime lawyer. His first real experience of being at sea came with his fifteen months' obligatory military service with the Navy. This was followed by a short course in international politics and sociology, but he eventually decided to pursue a career in the legal profession specialising in maritime law.

Nils' legal career began in London, working at Ince & Co. After nine months, he returned to Norway to join Wiersholm, Mellbye & Bech, a newly merged law firm, where he was to help form the shipping department, before becoming a partner in 1997. His return to Oslo was far from uneventful.

Just as he returned, he was involved in a large case involving the grounding of a vessel, which threatened to spill its bunkers just 100 metres from a European bird sanctuary. Nils took the unusual step of securing the papers on behalf of the owners' P&I club - a somewhat new concept to the Norwegian maritime law community. At the time, the move may have made him unpopular in Norway for a few weeks, but he now describes it as one of the highlights of his career to date.

Oil spills tend to command greater column inches than lives lost at sea, and Nils has dealt with both. Another highlight of his career involved the successful completion of an appeal to the supreme court regarding an incident in which 22 Polish people died in an accident off the coast of Norway. "Dealing with casualties like this is the downside of working in maritime law," says Nils. "But there is a lot more action in wet work."

So what advice would Nils offer to a budding young maritime lawyer? "Working in London was an important part of my training," he says. "London law firms are more specialised than those in Oslo. You have to deal with London lawyers all the time, so getting to know how they work is important."

Seagoing experience is another big plus. "Not only do you have to know your way around a vessel, " explains Nils, "but you also have to get your hands dirty and be prepared to sit down with the master of a ship and drink his coffee - however bad it is."

Having recently decided to step down as head of the shipping department, Nils hopes to be able to devote more time not only to his clients but also to himself in the future. The last few years have been what he describes as the most hectic years of his life. Along with his client commitments, Nils is also a member of the human rights group of the Bar Association.

Another highlight of Nils' career was the time he spent heading up an international group of lawyers trying to solve some of the critical issues relating to the use of electronic bills of lading. "This is a big and exciting area," enthuses Nils. The group also gave him the opportunity to work closely with Richard Williams, now retired from Ince & Co - a friendship he recalls fondly.

Although shipping is beginning to come round to the idea of electronic documentation, it is still taking far too much time to embrace it. The same can be said for maritime legislation. If Nils could change one thing about maritime law, he would like to see greater harmonisation of maritime acts around the world . He is not alone in that.

And what about time for himself? When he's not spending time with his daughter, Nils enjoys skiing and working out. His other passion is sailing. Working just a stone's throw from the stunning Oslo Fjord and Oslo's bustling waterfront at Aker Brygge, this is one past-time he can finally find time to really indulge in.