Mr Herman Steen > Wikborg Rein > Oslo, Norway > Lawyer Profile
Wikborg Rein Offices

Dronning Mauds gate 11
P.O.Box 1513 Vika
NO-0117 Oslo
Norway
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Mr Herman Steen

Work Department
Litigation and Arbitration, Shipping Offshore
Position
Herman is head of the firm’s Shipping and Offshore Dispute Practice in Oslo and global head of the Maritime and Offshore Emergency Response Team. He is admitted to the Norwegian Supreme Court and is member of the Norwegian Bar Association’s Legal Committee on Maritime, Air and other Transport Law, including Marine Insurance. Herman is ranked by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and the Norwegian Financial Daily. Legal 500 has described him as “the go-to person for international maritime disputes, specifically casualty claims and marine insurance issues”, “always has a practical solution to solve a tricky issue” and that he is “calm, knowledgeable and a steady pair of hands”. He is one of the leading lawyers in international maritime and marine insurance law. Herman has particular experience with maritime casualties, where he assists Norwegian and international clients, including P&I clubs, hull insurers, shipowners and others in connection with investigation and handling of incidents in Norway and around the world such as salvage, wreck removal, pollution, collisions, groundings, fires and cargo damage. He also assists in the handling of claims and legal proceedings arising out of such incidents. He has extensive experience with cover disputes under P&I, hull, war and cargo insurances, as well as reinsurance, direct actions, jurisdiction and choice of law issues and charterparty disputes. He is one of a few experts on autonomous ships. Herman has extensive litigation experience as a lawyer and previously as a judge. He has argued several cases for the Norwegian Supreme Court and has acted as a mediator on numerous occasions and is an experienced negotiator. He has been working out of the firm’s offices in Oslo, London and Kobe, Japan. Herman has previously been a judge in Oslo District Court and Drammen District Court, and also research assistant at the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law, where he wrote a thesis on charterparties which has been published in the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law’s law journal. He has a law degree from the University of Oslo and a master’s degree in maritime law from King’s College London. He has attended Harvard Law School’s Program of Instruction for Lawyers (Negotiation). Herman is frequently speaker at Norwegian and international conferences. He is lecturing at the Nordic Association of Marine Insurers’ (Cefor) Claims Forum and has for many years been lecturing at the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law. He is regularly publishing maritime and marine insurance law articles in Norwegian and international periodicals. Herman is one of the editors of the firm’s Shipping Offshore Update.
Career
2018- Partner, Wikborg Rein, Oslo
2017 Specialist Counsel, Wikborg Rein, Oslo
2011-2017 Senioradvokat, Wikborg Rein, Oslo
2010 Senior Associate, Wikborg Rein, Oslo
2010 Deputy Judge, Oslo District Court
2009-2010 Deputy Judge, Drammen District Court
2008-2009 Senior Associate, Wikborg Rein, Oslo
2008 Visiting Lawyer, Ince & Co., London
2008 Senior Associate, Wikborg Rein, London
2006-2007 Associate, Wikborg Rein, London/Kobe
2004-2006 Associate, Wikborg Rein, Oslo
2003- Lecturer and Examiner at The Faculty of Law, University of Oslo (including Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law)
2003-2004 Junior Researcher, Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law, University of Oslo
2000-2002 Trainee at various law firms etc.
Education
2006 Practising Certificate
2004 Cand. jur., University of Oslo
2004 Program of Instruction for Lawyers (Negotiation), Harvard Law School, Harvard University
2003 Master of Maritime Law (LLM), King’s College London, University of London
Lawyer Rankings
Norway > Maritime law
(Next Generation Partners)Wikborg Rein’s ‘high standard team of lawyers’ in the maritime field is praised for its ‘excellent coverage of both wet and dry shipping disputes’, where the group excels. The team also has strong ranks of commercial practitioners, advising on construction and conversion projects, equity and debt financings, chartering issues, and restructurings. Øyvind Axe focuses his practice on shipping and offshore transactions and is based in the Bergen office, while Oslo-based Andreas Fjærvoll-Larsen has a broad international practice with ‘solid transaction and negotiating experience’. Herman Steen is the go-to person for international maritime disputes, specifically casualty claims and marine insurance issues, and of counsel Morten Lund Mathisen leads the firm’s global maritime and offshore emergency response team. Former SANDS practice head Oddbjørn Slinning joined the team in 2022, and Gaute Gjelsten left to establish his own firm.
Norway > Offshore construction and shipbuilding
Wikborg Rein’s offshore construction and shipping practice is praised for being ‘always available, with broad experience and support from its international branches and legal network’. Dispute resolution advice is a key pillar of the practice, and co-head Herman Steen is highly regarded for his contentious experience. Co-head Øyvind Axe’s main areas of expertise include transactional mandates, including asset sale and purchase deals, financings and restructurings. Andreas Fjærvoll-Larsen completes the group head trio, and has extensive expertise in international transactions, leveraging his dual Norway and England and Wales qualifications. Former SANDS maritime law practice head Oddbjørn Slinning joined in 2022, bolstering the litigation, newbuild and ship conversion project capabilities. Offshore energy is within the purview of Morten Valen Eide, and Christian James-Olsen is also recommended.
Norway > Insurance
Wikborg Rein‘s full-service practice offers both Norwegian and English law insurance advice spanning disputes, transactions and regulatory issues; it acts for a roster of high-profile clients including insurance and reinsurance companies, captives and mutuals, policyholders, and insurance intermediaries. Marine and offshore insurance issues are a key focus of the firm. Practice head Anders Færden specialises in insurance law and has extensive experience in litigation and arbitration proceedings regarding insurance coverage disputes, recovery issues and professional liability claims. Other key names that contribute to the practice include litigators and maritime experts Oddbjørn Slinning and Herman Steen, and regulatory specialist Ole Andenæs.
Lawyer Rankings
- Maritime law Norway
- Next Generation Partners Norway > Maritime law
- Offshore construction and shipbuilding Norway
- Insurance Norway
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Capital markets
- Commercial, corporate and M&A
- Dispute resolution
- EU and competition
- Fishing and aquaculture
- Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Intellectual property
- Maritime law
- Offshore construction and shipbuilding
- Real estate
- Regulatory, compliance and investigations
- TMT