New partner for CJC strengthens expertise

(Posted on 03/09/18)

Well-known maritime lawyer Gareth Williams has joined Campbell Johnston Clark (CJC) as a director of its Singapore office, sustaining the international shipping law firm’s drive to grow by attracting acknowledged experts. Williams, who is a specialist in dry work, joins CJC from HFW Singapore.

The new appointment reflects the company’s ambitions for further expansion of its Singapore practice, which has been pivotal for growing the firm’s workload locally and throughout the Asia-Pacific region, according to CJC Director Ian Short.

“Gareth has exceptional experience across shipping and international trade contracts, dealing with the dry aspects of casualties and incidents, as well as commodities, and adds another high calibre individual to our team. His appointment strengthens and broadens the services we offer owners, charterers, P+I Clubs and marine insurers out of Singapore and consolidates the expertise we offer clients in South East Asia, China, Japan and South Korea. Gareth’s contribution will also be invaluable for CJC’s London and Newcastle offices as the firm engages in work throughout Asia.”

Over a 30-year career, including more than 20 years based in Greece, Williams has advised on and resolved disputes involving shipbuilding contracts, total losses of vessels, groundings, collisions and fires, unsafe port and dangerous cargo claims, cargo loss, damage and contamination claims and commodity trading. He has been consistently named as a leading individual in ‘Who's Who Legal’ and ‘Legal 500’, has featured as a "Global Leader" in Chambers Global Directory and has won the Clients Choice Award for Shipping and Transport in Singapore two years in succession, in 2017 and 2018.

Short, who was a founding member of the Singapore office CJC opened in early 2014, says activities are “going from strength to strength”. With CJC Singapore office already handling a significant case-load including several high-profile matters, the addition of Williams follows shortly after Paul Apostolis joined the office as a partner from HFW Singapore, bringing with him extensive casualty handling expertise.

“We had built a strong local team focusing solely on shipping law, matching the highest standards with value for money,” says Short. “This has established a solid foundation to grow by attracting quality hires such as Gareth and Paul to take the firm’s regional activities to the next level.”

Recent weeks have also seen Andrew Gray join CJC’s London office as a partner, from Clyde & Co Singapore. Gray also has many years of experience working in Singapore, with Short observing that CJC’s London and Newcastle activities would doubtless benefit from the expertise offered by the new joiners, given the close working relationship between the company’s three locations.

He added that the latest appointments also pointed towards CJC’s continuing involvement in high profile casualty work, where it has been engaged to handle some of the industry’s most prominent containership fires, large-scale groundings and major collisions in recent years.

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