Rising to the challenge

Suzanne Starbuck talks to José Sabatino, partner at Sabatino Pizzolante, about recent developments affecting maritime law in Venezuela and the challenges they pose to maritime lawyers

VENEZUELA is an exciting place to be, especially if you are a maritime lawyer. Not only do you have a new set of maritime laws at your disposal – the most up-to-date in Latin America. You also have the use of two new maritime courts designed to make maritime litigation faster and more efficient. It’s no wonder that José Sabatino has much to smile about.

A partner at one of Venezuela’s leading maritime law firms, Sabatino Pizzolante, José was closely involved in the development of the new maritime laws back in 2001. “There is no doubt that this new maritime legal framework is an important step for Venezuela, but even more significant will be to see how it works in practice. Maritime lawyers and future maritime courts have a big task ahead,” José told The Maritime Advocate in 2002. So far, all seems to be going to plan.

“Since 2002, our firm has been testing some of the new rules and they are working,” says Jose. “But there is still plenty of room for the development of maritime law in Venezuela.” The new courts are a significant part of that development, although there has been some disappointment that both courts have been set up in Caracas.

Sabatino Pizzolante is based in Puerto Cabello (the country’s first container port some 120km west of Caracas) - and with good reason. “Caracas may be the capital, but more than 3,000 vessels call at Puerto Cabello each year, which now handles as much as seventy per cent of Venezuela’s general cargo. It makes sense for us to be where the work is,” says José.

The Venezuela government has plans to open maritime courts elsewhere in the country but, given that it took three years to get the first two up and running, it’s anyone’s guess when that will be. In the meantime, firms face the ongoing challenge to compete for new business. For José, an important part of that challenge is his annual trip to the UK. “I make a point of visiting not only the UK but other parts of Europe every year. This is something not many Venezuelan maritime lawyers bother to do, but I think it is important to build up good face-to-face relationships,” he says. “You have to work hard to secure new work so, although the trips are expensive, they do pay off in the long term.”

It was José’s older brother Ivan who first encouraged him to study maritime law and who now works alongside him at Sabatino Pizzolante. Armed with a law degree from the Universidad de Carabobo, José headed to the University of Wales in the UK to do an MSc in Port & Shipping Administration, followed by an LLM in Maritime Law. In 1993 he returned to Venezuela to work as legal counsel, and later adviser, to the Puerto Cabello Port Authority, before joining Sabatino Pizzolante in 1996.

Today he is primarily responsible for port affairs, including terminal operators’ liabilities as well as general P&I matters. He also finds time to teach port administration at the Universidad Maritima del Caribe in Caracas, and to be a member of the Venezuelan Maritime Law Association. He is also vice-president of a number of organisations, including the Puerto Cabello Chamber of Commerce, and legal adviser to the Venezuelan Shipping Association.

There was a time when José had to travel with a presentation of Puerto Cabello itself as so few people knew where it was. Today all that has changed, as has the firm. Sabatino Pizzolante is now the only specialised maritime and port law firm outside Caracas, although it does have correspondents there as well as throughout the country at La Guaira, Maracaibo, Guanta, and Puerto Ordaz. It also has a sister company, Associated Maritime Consultancy, which offers clients legal, surveying and investigation services, and another company, Globalpandi, which acts as commercial P&I correspondent. “We have developed our structure to provide clubs and shipping lines with all the tools they need,” says José.

“It is important to ask clients what they need,” he says. “Sometimes it is all too easy to assume everyone is happy. I prefer to ask.” José is also a strong believer in the power of marketing. Sabatino Pizzolante produces a regular newsletter, letting the industry know what it is doing. “As a firm we have to move in the same direction as the business,” says José.

The advent of Venezuela’s first dedicated maritime courts should certainly help attract new business to the country, as well as raise the profile of maritime law and lawyers. According to José, a decade ago maritime law was a well-kept secret in Venezuela, restricted to just a few lawyers in Caracas. Since 1994, however, it has grown significantly, even if, as José points out, there is still plenty to do.

“Fees are the main problem,” he says. “We are all trying to stay in business, so we have to develop added-value services and offer more and more to differentiate ourselves from other firms.” Enticing new blood to the industry is another challenge for today’s firms. Although there are a growing number of students choosing to study maritime law, work placements are few and far between, forcing potential young lawyers to go abroad in search of experience.

Strikes are also an ever-present threat. Just two years ago, Venezuela was hit by a sixty per cent reduction in port activities due to strike action – a bitter blow for those firms reliant on port work.

But, for José, the port provides much more than just his work. It’s also his hobby. After fifteen years of investigation, late 2004 saw the publication of Jose’s second book on the history of music in Puerto Cabello, the first being on the history of commerce at the port. Coming from a family of musicians, including an uncle who is a famous composer and a mother who is a piano teacher, music has been a big part of José’s life ever since he learnt to play the trumpet as a boy. He may not play any more, but he still spends much of his free time listening to classical music. That’s when he’s not researching Puerto Cabello in the XVIII and XIX centuries for his next book. “Of course all this is impossible without the support of my wife,” adds José

As well as the family influence, he puts his love of music down to a lack of sporting ability at school. “I was never sporty as a child,” says José. “When my son asks me if I played football at school, I tell him ‘yes’, I was the ball.”

The last few years have been a time of excitement and change for maritime lawyers in Venezuela. Working on behalf of the Venezuelan Shipping Association on the drafting of the new general ports law brought José into close contact with the new legislation. Although this, coupled with the new courts, marks a huge step forward for a country previously reliant on out-of-date and obsolete maritime laws, José says that it is still early days. “One of the biggest challenges facing maritime lawyers in Venezuela today is the accurate understanding of the new set of maritime laws, particularly their analysis to help introduce the necessary legislative reforms,” he says.

You can see why Venezuela is an exciting place to be, especially if you are a maritime lawyer.