Shipping law is one of the most specialised areas of law, so its practitioners are always in demand. It falls into two areas: ‘dry’ shipping includes contractual issues, bill of lading and charterparty disputes, and disputes about damage to cargo, whereas ‘wet’ shipping usually involves casualties (eg, where a ship has sunk or collided with another vessel). The work can be contentious or non-contentious. Even when the world economy is slow, shipping litigation remains buoyant and generally fares well because of its counter-cyclical nature. Non-contentious work, on the other hand, tends to follow the economic trends.

Pawel Wysocki is an assistant solicitor at Hill Dickinson, which is noted for its large marine practice, incorporating cargo and freight, marine regulatory, and shipping and yachts, among other niche areas. He was raised in Finland around ships and seafarers. “My father worked for a Polish-Finnish joint venture shipping company,” he says, “and other members of my family are involved in the marine business as well.” Pawel grew up listening to discussions about legal issues and shipping. He says: “It was something that appealed to me from a very young age.”

Pawel went on to study law at the University of East Anglia, which included a year at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands as part of the ERASMUS exchange programme. Following his degree, he went to Guildford to do the LPC at The College of Law.

A home grown Hill Dickinson lawyer, Pawel describes his training contract at the firm: “I did a seat in the professional risks team, involved predominantly in defence work for medical and legal professionals, which was quite exciting. I did another seat in a similar area, but more on the side of construction professionals. Then I trained with the yacht team, focusing on insurance litigation and personal injury, all to do with yachts. Finally, I did a non-contentious seat in the yacht team, doing what I do now.”

Pawel works mainly on transactional yacht work: “This includes drafting or negotiating yacht construction contracts, and ancillary agreements for project managers, designers and so on. As we approach delivery of a yacht, I might be involved in drafting crew management agreements, looking at insurance coverage and dealing with the myriad issues arising on handover of these multi-million pound assets.”

Pawel continues: “I also do a fair bit of sale and purchase work. Some days are taken up entirely by negotiation and then, in due course, completion of a transaction. Completions are often stressful but exciting, especially when you’re dealing with different parties across the globe. You communicate with the crew via Iridium phones and you have to review a plethora of documentation and maintain close contact with brokers, bankers, ship registries, classification societies, clients and their various advisers. I’d have to say that the completion of a transaction or the signing of any agreement you’ve been involved in is particularly rewarding because you get to see the value of something you’ve been working towards.”

Although marine work is a specialist area, the breadth of work involved is surprising. Some solicitors work on high-profile international cases to do with oil and gas rigs, others present seminars in exotic locations and visit shipyards around the world. Pawel explains his own niche area, buying and selling yachts: “Things begin with an approach by a buyer or seller to represent their interests. Once you’ve got the draft memorandum in place you negotiate a list of documents that are to be provided on completion. Sometimes you’ll be asked to hold funds pending completion. Following execution of the memorandum there will usually be a survey and sea trial, and we might be asked to comment on the outcome and to document any necessary variations. We’ll draft a completion agenda as a guide to how the process will be achieved on the day. Then we’ll provide an opinion on the corporate documents and liaise with the various registration authorities. Once we and the client are both happy, completion will take place, often with the yacht in international waters. Lawyers and brokers in London or the south of France are on hand by telephone and email.”

While Pawel’s clients are usually individuals, many solicitors in shipping work for large international shipping and freight companies. For example, a case might involve a charterer giving a wrongful voyage order, sending cargo to the wrong destination and potentially causing major problems.

The quality of work at Hill Dickinson attracted Pawel to the firm. “I applied here because of the firm's marine expertise,” he remembers, “and it just so happened that I was lucky enough to end up in the yacht team. The market is on the up and the interest is phenomenal. The build slots in shipyards are filled for years ahead and there are many wealthy people who wish to invest in these sorts of yacht. For me, it’s the place to be.”

The legal issues themselves are as diverse as the oceans. Pawel does some work on contentious cases involving “complex legal points and multi-jurisdictional aspects which are always challenging”. Although the shipping industry is old, its laws have become extremely refined and remain dynamic.

Pawel’s very proud of the work he does. He describes the highlight of his career so far as “becoming an assistant solicitor in the Hill Dickinson yacht team. I enjoy working with my clients and my colleagues. We’re very privileged to be able to work for some very senior clients and the people I work with are truly amazing”.

The nature of Pawel’s work calls for a key skill: flexibility. It’s a strength necessary in most areas of marine law, where you may be required to travel a lot, work late, acquire new skills at a moment's notice and investigate relatively uncharted legal waters. If you represent a ship-owner client, you might, for example, be called on if one of their vessels is stranded in the Pacific amid a variety a range of multi-jurisdictional problems. Other skills necessary, especially for working in a yacht team, include “good commercial acumen and proactive business development,” explains Pawel. “Because of the nature of the work and the calibre of the clients, we strive to provide a first-class service. Responding to the clients’ needs is key.”

To wannabe lawyers, Pawel says: “Get as much experience as you can. Try big firms, try small firms. Get a feel for what office life is like. Make sure your CV is correct and up-to-date, emphasising your strengths. Draft a covering letter that stands out from the crowd.”

More importantly, because of the many niche practice areas within shipping, Pawel advises doing your research: ”I remember when I trained, the yacht team was an enigma. I wasn’t quite sure what they did but it sounded rather exciting. While a lot of the time it isn’t, there is an element of glamour, so I feel privileged to be able to do something that I truly enjoy and I do take pleasure in working in this unique market, surrounded – in spirit at least – with some wonderful feats of design and engineering.”