The Legal 500

Bech-Bruun’s ‘well-qualified, service-minded’ practice advises P&I clubs, shipowners, operators and carriers in the Maritime and Commercial Court and the Supreme Court. Clients include A.P. Møller – Mærsk, Stena Line and Thomas Cook, and insurers such as TrygVesta and If P&C Insurance. Instructions include vessel arrests and terminations of charter party arrangements. Jørgen Hauschildt, who is trustee of The Container Company, and Johannes Grove Nielsen handle cross-border insolvency issues. Clients appreciate group head Jes Anker Mikkelsen’s ‘vast knowledge of shipping, transport and insurance law’. Henrik Valdorf-Hansen acted for If Insurance against DHL Global Forwarding (Denmark) in a case regarding the loss of wind farm equipment during transit from Denmark to Canada.

Gorrissen Federspiel’s ‘practical business-focused and efficient’ group provides ‘full and thorough expertise at short notice’. It represents banks, insurers, P&I clubs, shipowners – notably A.P. Møller – Mærsk, Norden and Scandlines – and shipowners’ organisation BIMCO. Its busy aviation practice successfully represented Norwegian Air Shuttle and Air Greenland. Jens Mathiasen advised Triton on the acquisition of the chemical division of Nordic Tankers and represented Danske Færger in a dispute over a newbuild, and Morten Lundqvist Jakobsen is advising on the TORM restructuring. Peter Appel heads the practice.

Clients praise Kromann Reumert as having ‘the best shipping lawyers in Denmark’. The team regularly handlescollision cases, and practice head Henrik Thal Jantzen represented the vessel’s underwriters in the recent high-profile casualty involving Finnish vessel RAMONA. Lars Rosenberg Overby advised Swedish Orient Line on its acquisition of the Rostock-Hanko ferry line and three ferries from Scandlines. Other work for the team includes advising on the chartering of specialised vessels such as rigs for the construction of wind farms, and advising on road and sea transportation tenders. Thomas Kaas advised Danmarks Skibskredit on the transfer of Nordic Tankers’ chemical tanker division to Triton.

Delacour Law Firm’s broad shipping and logistics group is led by Henrik Kleis, who represents numerous Danish ports, shipping agents, freightforwarders, ship brokers, road carriers and insurers, including handling high-profile litigation. Anders Hedetoft advises on trading and customs. Key clients include the Port of Aarhus, Maersk Logistics, Cargo Nord, and TrygVesta. Trained pilot Lasse Rungholm advises Danish Air Transport.

Focus Advokater (LLP)’s Peter Ringsted assisted Northern Offshore Services with establishing new Danish group headquarters in Esbjerg and the Danish flagging of five new vessels from a Norwegian shipyard. He also acted for a Swedish bankruptcy estate in the court-sanctioned auction sales of five cargo vessels.

LETT Law Firm P/S’s ‘service-oriented’ cross-departmental practice is principal adviser to DSB (Danish State Railways), and practice head Per Vestergaard Pedersen is advising Svendborg Bugser regarding a collision. Niels Erik Nielsen is chairman of the board of directors of TORM, and Henrik Sjørslev is appointed trustee of Cimber Sterling Group.

MAQS Law Firm’s practice advises on sea, road, air, rail and multimodal transportation, and was strengthened by the merger with Bang + Regnarsen, which brought on board top logistics adviser Ulla Fabricius. 2012 saw an increase in ship finance work and global logistics contract drafting. Group head Philip Graff is representing owners of mega yachts in disputes with Danish shipyards. The group handles numerous cases in Copenhagen’s Maritime and Commercial Court, some of which reach the Supreme Court. High-profile clients include Gulf Air.

Shipping boutique Birch Windahl provides ‘good, practical advice at a competitive cost’. Jesper Windahl successfully represented Tryg Forsikring and XL Insurance in a case concerning theft of electronic consumer goods during transit from Taiwan to Denmark, and advised Apex Bulk Carriers on the termination of a charterparty agreement.

Hafnia Law Firm, which specialises in maritime law, fields the ‘fine lawyers’ Peter Schaumburg-Müller, Mathias Steinø, Thomas Bryde Hansen Alex Laudrup and Anders Bjørn Nielsen. The group recently advised Uni-Tankers on its acquisition of 12 tanker vessels, advised Skuld on the grounding of a vessel in Greenland, and won a labour dispute for Smyril Line. 
Niels Jørn Friborg joined from Gorrissen Federspiel.

Horten Law Firm’s Krester Krøger Kjær, who leads the maritime, air and transportation group, has been seconded part-time to Skuld. The practice, which also includes Hans Abildstrøm and renowned arbitrator Niels Schiersing, represents clients including Nordea Bank, Vesta Insurance, AirBaltic, and Siemens Wind Power.

IUNO’s transport specialist Aage Krogh represents SAS Cargo, Tryg Vesta, Agility, TNT Worldwide Express, DPD, PostNord, and QCS-Quick Cargo Service. The firm is an accredited legal partner to the Danish Freight Forwarders’ Association.

Mazanti-Andersen, Korsø Jensen & Partnere’s Philip Thorsen advises NSB, the Norwegian national railway. Jan Al-Erhayem, who is a former general counsel at A.P. Møller – Mærsk, advises on shipping matters. Mark Thorsen advises broadly on transport matters.

Plesner’s Jørgen Permin advises Nordic Shipholding on vessel deals, pool arrangements and joint ventures, while Micha Fritzen handles capital markets matters for transport sector clients. Practice head Peter Fogh represents Singapore Technologies Marine and TORM in shipping disputes, and Thomas Maaberg Hansen has acted for Dansk Skibskredit and Tankers Inc Holding.