The Legal 500

Bech-Bruun is commended for its ‘strength in marine insurance matters’. The group advises P&I clubs, shipowners, operators and carriers and handles Maritime and Commercial Court and Supreme Court cases. Clients include A P Moller-Maersk, Stena Line and Thomas Cook, and insurers TrygVesta and If P&C Insurance. Matters caused by the financial crisis included termination of charter party arrangements and detention disputes. Group head Jes Anker Mikkelsen represented Indian shipowners PFS Narayana Shipping in a dispute regarding owner’s obligations to pay for charterers’ debt for bunkers. Henrik Valdorf-Hansen acted in international arbitrations concerning damage to wind turbine foundations in Germany and Austria. Jesper Windahl left to establish shipping boutique Birch Windahl.

Gorrissen Federspiel’s ‘strong, first-class’ team represents airline operators, banks, insurers and P&I clubs, shipowners – notably Clipper, Norden and Scandlines – and shipowners’ organisation BIMCO. Transactional work included advising Camillo Eitzen & Co on the sale of its major shareholding in Eitzen Bulk Shipping, and DFDS on its acquisition of Norfolk Line. Key names include the ‘well connected, excellent practitioner’ Peter Appel, Morten Lundqvist Jakobsen, who specialises in ship finance, aviation and rail advice, and ‘rising star’ Jens Mathiasen.

Kromann Reumert’s ‘top level practice’ comprising group head Henrik Thal Jantzen, Lars Rosenberg Overby and Jakob Rosing are ‘good lawyers, responsive and reactive’. The team assisted ship owners and hull underwriters in collision cases; represented the owners of Danica White in a high-profile piracy dispute; assisted with charter parties for specialised vessels and rigs for the construction of large windmill farms; and assisted Danish cargo owners with tenders for road and sea transportation.

Ulla Fabricius leads Bang + Regnarsen’s well-reputed shipping practice, which operates out of Copenhagen with German offices in Hamburg and Berlin. Fabricius advises P&I clubs and major transport and shipping companies, and has drafted standard conditions for Danish stevedores. Sisse Friis Nilaus and Laura Majbritt Riisgård, who advises on road transport, are also recommended.

Delacour Dania’s clients appreciate ‘easy access to acknowledged expertise and professional support’ from the shipping and transportation group led by Anders Hedetoft, who specialises in customs duties, and Henrik Kleis, who represents Danish ports and advises shipping agents, freight-forwarding companies, ship brokers, road carriers and insurers. Its work is supported by the firm’s offices in Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Martin Juste specialises in logistics and distribution agreements and Merete Andersen advises on VAT. Key clients include the Port of Aarhus, Maersk Logistics, Cargo Nord and TrygVesta.

Peter Ringsted at Focus Advokater (LLP) has an excellent reputation for ship financing advice. Ringsted advises Swedish shipowners on flagging their fleets in the Danish International Register of Shipping (DIS) and structuring their Danish operations, and recently won a major shipping arbitration. Michael Clemmensen also handles shipping and other arbitration.

MAQS Law Firm’s group, led by Philip Graff, who is recommended as ‘knowlegeable, professional and a man of his word’, advises on sea, road, air, rail and multimodal transportation. 2009 saw an increase in collection, security for debt and litigation work, and it assisted Danske Bank with the auctioning of a vessel. Transport-related M&A and global logistic contracts are other areas of focus. Key clients include DHL, Seatainers, DSV, Air France-KLM and Kühne & Nagel.

Horten’s broad practice, led by Hans Abildstrøm, represents insurers and reinsurers including Vesta Insurance, shipping and cargo companies such as Summerton Alliance and Panalpina, and corporates including Siemens Wind Power and Danish harbours. Jakob Arrevad and Michael Goeskjær are recommended.

Lett Law Firm is commended for its ‘ability to understand clients’ goals and interests, identify key problem areas and propose strategies’. Its ‘strong, professional’ team is principal adviser to DSB (Danish State Railways). Other clients include Lehmann Nordic and insurance companies including Chartis. Michael Grønbech is representing S Scan Global Logistics against Nordea Bank Danmark in a Supreme Court case, while the environmental practice group, led by Vivi Bruhn Knudsen, advises clients involved in oil and gas shipping on clean-up requirements.

Magnusson Advokatfirma is the appointed accredited legal partner to the Danish Freight Forwarders Association. Aage Krogh, who also handles transport-related litigation, and his team represent major industry players Kühne & Nagel, Schenker and TNT Express and are expanding activities in the airline cargo industry, advising clients including BA and Iberia.

Philip Thorsen at Mazanti-Andersen, Korsø Jensen & Partnere is advising NSB, the Norwegian national railway, on expanding into the Danish public transport market.

Jens Hjortskov and Per Petersen at Philip Law Firm handle shipping and transport issues for corporate clients including FedEx Scandinavian Cruise Centre.

Plesner’s team, led by Peter Fogh, advised the Swedish Maritime Administration on a claim in the Copenhagen Commercial and Maritime Court for costs related to an oil spillage in Swedish waters. Jørgen Permin and Micha Fritzen advised Nordic Tankers in its conditional assets-for-shares deal with the Clipper Group, which included the takeover of a substantial part of the Clipper Group’s tanker division and commercial and technical ship management activities. Jørgen Permin advised China Development Bank on Danish law matters in connection with a $1bn facility to A P Moller-Maersk.

Viltoft provides specialist knowledge of maritime penal law and maritime pollution, and represents crews in salvage disputes.