HFW > London, England > Firm Profile

‘Judith Prior has an abundant knowledge of applicable law and trade practices which she applies very well in her advisory work. At the same time, she also takes into account the commercial aspects of the matter.’

‘The Commodities Disputes practice at HFW is unique in combining sector expertise (in commodity trading, shipping, shipbuilding and related disputes) with deep knowledge and understanding of litigation and arbitration procedure.’

‘Alistair Feeney is a true commodity disputes expert. He is intelligent and understands what makes my company tick. I can discuss any dispute or potential dispute with Alistair and he never fails to give prompt, clear and relevant advice.’

‘The people that we deal with in commodities team at HFW are impressive.’

‘Damian Honey is an extremely hands-on, intelligent and efficient.’

‘HFW has a top qualified team that covers every aspect of legal advice possible; they are highly client orientated and enable the clients to base their decisions on profound legal recommendation however HFW always have a strong understanding for commercial decisions.’

‘HFW uses a broad network of own subsidiaries and partner law firms; the team of HFW is available nearly 24/7, works together with you as a team if issues arise and you can rest assured that every issue and matter is handled perfectly.’

‘Brian Perrott stands out: he has a high commercial mind-set in comparison to a over the top knowledge of international trading law and litigation; it is always a pleasure to work with Brian.’

‘HFW are clearly experts within the aviation field. I felt assured from the beginning of my relationship with them that they have a wealth of experience in dealing with complicated legal issues within this field. I am extremely grateful to have been recommended this practice.’

‘My relationship with HFW was primarily through Edward Spencer and Victoria Cooper, both of whom were exceptional in every aspect.’

‘Paul Woodley is extremely approachable and very responsive to our needs, very thorough and has a wide range of knowledge right across the world.’

‘HFW provides solid support for every legal challenge we have faced with its internal expert attorneys in areas of relevance, and connects us with other attorneys if unable to handle based on jurisdiction. The attorneys are client-focused and communicate analysis and solutions in a business-like manner rather than in a legally-technical or academic manner which would be of no use to us.’

‘I have worked closely over the past few years with Zohar Zik on our aircraft and engine related matters. Zohar is an extremely personable individual who captures the gravity and depth of our issues quickly and provides both legal and strategic advice in a timely manner to address unreasonable lessor demands, difficult lessors and complicated situations. Zohar’s attention to our matters is consistently timely and thorough until we are of the view that the issue is resolved and closed.’

‘Considerable expertise across the aviation sector, allied with strength in depth makes HFW a leader in the field. HFW provides an outstanding service to its clients, and secures for them effective outcomes. Its international presence allows it a global role in a global sector.’

‘Rebecca Quayle is very experienced in aviation, she is very commercial, responsive and technically excellent.’

‘HFW is an amazing law firm. They are always updating their customers about the latest legislation.’

‘The HFW team provide a down to earth approach to supporting their clients. Their technical understanding of the issues faced by clients means that the client and HFW are quickly on the same page leading to a rapid assessment of the issue and strategy development. They also provide advice in easy to understand language which is not bound in legalese.’

‘Team of highly qualified professionals with valuable experience.’

‘Alessio Sbraga is very experienced in all charter party matters. Very good knowledge of all new carbon-related regulations.’

‘HFW have a huge presence in shipping and are well resourced for the large, complex cases.’

‘This practice has a wealth of experience and great coverage in all shipping matters. Their multidiscipline teams are capable to support clients across commercial, technical and regulatory.’

‘Elinor Dautlich is very experienced and easy to work with.’

‘Unique experience and expertise in the field. They have been market leaders for some significant time.’

‘They are renowned (and deservedly so) specialists in insurance and reinsurance. They fight a client’s corner very hard, but not at a disproportionate cost.’

‘Andrew Bandurka is a leading light in English insurance and (especially) reinsurance. He has unparalleled experience and commercial nous. He is imaginative. He fosters a collaborative approach in his team which leads to high quality outcomes.’

‘Chris Foster is probably the best solicitor I had the pleasure of working with. He is razor-sharp and gives no quarter.’

‘Rupert Warren is an up-and-coming new partner with a bright future.’

‘Great knowledge, capability, client focus and advice.’

‘Chris Foster is a market leading litigator, huge experience in all areas of insurance and re-insurance law. He is my ‘go to’ solicitor for any tricky case!’

‘Christopher Cardona – Exceptional knowledge, skills, abilities, acumen and discusses issues with the client based on the client’s own personal legal skills and knowledge – meaning he doesn’t talk down to the client.’

‘Good commercial knowledge. Can act across the Market. Very good knowledge of international markets.’

‘HFW has managed to build a team of lawyers who, apart from being technically competent, inspire confidence by their in-house dynamic. The partners clearly respect and collaborate with each other, which is not always the case in law firms. HFW competes internationally and it has recruited intelligently to ensure desirable diversity in its various overseas offices, as well as at the London HQ.’

‘Good international firm – solid practitioners and hungry to please. Great to deal with and policyholder friendly. Results driven.’

‘Jonathan Bruce provided an excellent client service and always provided an honest and open approach to the investigation and the expectation for the outcome of the case.’

‘Jonathan Bruce brings the intelligence, the knowledge, the experience and the inter-personal skills required to understand the issues and cut to the chase. He is attentive and generous with his time. He uses the firm’s resources and external resources effectively and aims at achieving a pragmatic resolution where possible. His effectiveness is enhanced by his language skills and his very international outlook.’

‘In relation to complex marine and energy disputes the team has a breadth of knowledge and a very pragmatic / commercial approach to providing advice. For clients wanting support to find a commercial solution, whilst maintaining the possibility of dispute escalation is a particular strength.’

‘Nigel Wick and Jonathan Bruce at the key partners for dispute resolution. A strong commercial instinct and strong understanding of particular marine and energy related issues.’

‘They have a high level of knowledge of the commercial/professional aspects of the professional negligence disputes they deal with, combined with first-rate legal expertise. They are also properly sensitive to the needs and interests of their clients.’

‘Rupert Warren is a true expert in the field: thoughtful and informed, but also truly client-focused and commercial. Andrew Bandurka is an elder statesman – highly experienced and dedicated to getting the right result for the client – seen it all, and knows how to deal with any problem that comes up.’

‘A great team with a great practice in the top end of the market.’

‘Chris Foster has a sharp intellect and very considerable experience as a (re)insurance litigator.’

‘HFW is a truly insurance-focused firm; you are always assured that their people have a genuine interest and expertise in the industry.’

‘The team at HFW knows how to handle disputes and difficult opposing parties and lawyers. They understand construction and are easy to work with.’

‘Michael Sergeant is a very experienced construction lawyer and knows how to structure a case to bring out its strengths.’

‘The HFW team includes very seasoned and experienced counsel, as well as young but very bright associates.’

‘HFW are my go-to law firm when I have a legal dispute that is complex and not run of the mill. Their ability to think outside the box and quickly attend meetings is crucial to facilitate a strategy and scenario options enabling, where possible, the timely and appropriate resolution of the dispute.’

‘Max Wieliczko is unique in his ability to think outside the box. His tenacity and desire to achieve the best result for his client is what makes him stand out from the rest.’

‘HFW’s travel: regulatory and commercial practice is extremely commercial and professional. The firm acts for leading travel operators and the cases often raise issues of conflicts of laws and requires work between different jurisdictions. HFW is extremely well-equipped for such international cases.’

‘Claire Womersley is an extremely thoughtful yet tenacious litigator who was formerly a mariner on a cruise liner. She has extensive experience of the practical and technical aspects of cruise operation as well as being an excellent lawyer.’

‘Paul Dean is a tenacious litigator with vast experience in shipping and travel disputes.’

‘Angelina Davidson-Houston is a delight to work with and always on the ball with the detail.’

‘The team is very knowledgeable with a great amount of experience.’

‘Exceptional service – HFW take care of the details very well. They are extremely responsive and willing to go the extra mile to get the deal across the line.’

‘Barbara Pansadoro is superb; her grasp of every issue is fantastic, and she is tireless in getting a deal over the line.’

‘Elinor Dautlich is very competent in amongst other things ship financing. At the same time she is a very easy going person which helps in difficult negotiations.’

‘Gudmund Bernitz always delivers high-quality advice.’

‘The team is really knowledgeable of the entire industry, combining the commercial and legal skills, which is really valuable in lawyers.’

‘Specific mention to Barbara Pansadoro – she’s superb – her grasp of every issue is fantastic, and she is tireless in getting a deal over the line. Someone you really want on your side!’

‘HFW has a unique combination of a warm/personal approach together with a high degree of competence.’

‘Experience, particularly in snsurance sector for M&A and regulatory.’

‘Apart from their experience, their presentation of legal issues, clauses plus their positive outgoing personalities make them stand out over their competitors.’

‘Exceptional service, will go over and above to make your life easier.’

‘William Reddie is an exceptional insurance lawyer, personable, knowledgeable and has an outstanding commercial perspective.’

‘They’re excellent in relation to legal and regulatory matters, pragmatic and don’t spend more time than needed on work.’

‘William Reddie is an amazing source of knowledge. He cares deeply about his clients and is willing to go the extra mile for them.’

‘The team has a vast range of experience in offshore wind and are proactive in protecting clients position while also aiding develop strategy to solve matters.’

‘Ability to understand the technical elements of the claim and develop strategy.’

‘HfW are my go-to law firm when I have a legal dispute that is complex and not “run of the mill”. Their ability to think outside the box and quickly attend meetings / calls is crucial to facilitate a strategy and scenario options enabling, where possible, the timely and appropriate resolution of the dispute.’

‘Max Wieliczko is unique in his ability to think outside the box and whilst appropriate resolution is always my desired approach. I feel reassured that he is “in my corner” should formal proceedings be ultimately required. His tenacity and desire to achieve the best result for his client is what makes him stand out from the rest.’

‘HFW provide a broad service to contractors with excellence in all aspects of non-contentious support, providing a high level of confidence to clients.’

‘Richard Booth is approachable, available, technically excellent and extremely thorough, but also commercially aware which allows a competitive edge to be maintained.’

‘HFW has broad experience in the offshore wind industry, and in particular offshore construction. The combination of maritime and construction law expertise is very valuable.’

‘Richard Booth is very knowledgeable, easy to approach and to the point. He is solution oriented and has a good eye for the commercial aspects of legal issues.’

‘The team includes partners with a great track-record at closing down criminal investigations without charges being brought. Barry and Anne-Marie head up the team which is able to represent clients in heavyweight cross-border investigations.’

‘Barry Vitou is pre-eminent in his field. He is a razor-sharp strategist who has a gift for seeing a clear pathway through even the most convoluted problems. He remains calm under pressure and his sage advice is invariably right. You definitely want him on your side.’

‘Anne-Marie Ottaway is a former SFO prosecutor who now defends. She has tremendous experience in this area of work, and her work output is phenomenal. She works incredibly well as part of a team.’

‘Anne-Marie Ottaway and Barry Vitou are without doubt one of the strongest combinations in London’s white collar market. Combining long standing experience of UK and US corruption in the private sector with an in-depth knowledge of the working of the SFO and many years in the private sector, their experience ranges from internal investigations to the Supreme Court and few in the City can boast of that range.’

‘Anne-Marie Ottaway is a star so far as advice to corporates is concerned. Experienced, incisive, razor-sharp. Her advice gets the point and gets to the point.’

‘Anne-Maire Ottaway has previously supported my last firm on a significant and sensitive white-collar crime matter. Her insight into what the regulatory authorities may be thinking, as well as the process, was invaluable for me and other Senior Management. She navigated us to a successful conclusion that saved the firm much expense and unwarranted poor publicity.’

‘As can be seen from their track record, the team have provided excellent advice to corporate clients, in the face of extreme challenges. Their knowledge of this space is fantastic and they can rapidly bring an experienced team to bear on most matters.’

‘Barry Vitou and Anne-Marie Ottaway are stand out partners for the firm and effectively leverage their years’ of experience. They are great to work with and can provide that much needed sense of calm at c-suite level during a crisis.’

‘Alastair Mackie is very technically and commercially astute.’

‘The team led by Matthew Gore are my go to lawyers for all logistic work – they are experts in this area. They are constantly striving to improve their client offering through increased billing transparency and proactive queries with a view to determining what would be most helpful for me as a client. I am very impressed by their service and their expertise in logistics.’

‘Matthew Gore has great industry knowledge in logistics – he is my go to person not only for logistics legal advice but also with a view to understanding generally what is going on in the market. He is extremely responsive – even where we require extremely urgent responses with somewhat unreasonable turnaround time requests. Always commercial in his approach and pragmatic.’

‘Matthew Wilmshurt is another go-to person within HFW. He has excellent industry knowledge, helpful and responsive – always willing to meet tight deadlines and is pragmatic and commercial in his approach.’

‘HFW has helped our startup with a diverse range of abilities and offerings that has allowed us to grow with a legal partner very focused on aiding us and our needs as we mature. The team at HFW have worked carefully to understand our trajectory and help us problem solve in a manor that preemptively sets us up well for the future. Their insight and attentiveness have been incredible considering we are a small start up with limited cash flow availability.’

‘Alistair Mackie has been exceptional in his work, leadership and guidance for our team. We feel that Alistair has approached his work with our group as though he was a member or owner of our business.’

The commercial contracts team were exceptional to deal with in helping us review our customer SAAS agreements and our DPAs. Their knowledge of the industry and subject matter was on point and they clearly communicated throughout the entire process providing the business insights and asking questions about contractual eventualities we might not have covered otherwise.’

‘Catherine Emsellem-Rope was very approachable and knowledgeable throughout the process and effectively managed the interaction between our business and the rest of HFW’s subject matter experts.’

‘A very friendly and approachable team that will always fight my corner like no other UK or US firm I have encountered – they are very very smart and experienced.’

‘Alex Kyriakoulis is awesome, it is no wonder he is always so busy on deals around the world. Yet somehow he always has time for us and is on top of all issues.’

‘HFW is quick and pragmatic. They always understand the industry.’

‘Alex Kyriakoulis stands out. He is the best UK lawyer I have ever worked with. He is exceptional negotiator, his advice is short and to the point, and always commercially sound.’

‘Ashwani Kochhar is another team member worth to be mentioned. His advice on W&I insurance was of utmost importance for the deal and it was perfect.’

‘Alex Kyriakoulis is very clever, excellent under pressure, and can draft accurately on his feet.’

‘Simon Jerrum – an up-and-coming partner who is equally adept at running a case on his own or managing a team, in either case highly effectively and with an easy charm.’

‘The team is resourceful and works hard. Very impressive.’

‘Richard Brown is an extremely well rounded legal adviser who I would trust to work alongside me on any complicated dispute. Rick is measured in his advice and is very easy to work with on long projects running 10 years.’

‘David Chalcraft is a standout within the team with a wealth of experience. I trust David’s advice and am reassured that he has the client’s interests in mind.’

‘A lean but experienced team of litigators that fights very large claims across a variety of jurisdictions.’

‘Damian Honey is loved by lay clients and is a master tactician. Andrew Williams is pragmatic and very effective. Good to have on your side.’

‘This small team outperforms in comparison to its size. Partner involvement and client contact is superb. Collectively, they provide sound legal advice, balanced with commercial considerations. They are able to see the client’s objectives and align themselves with those objectives, making for a very cohesive and collaborative team. I would not hesitate to recommend HFW.’

‘Rick Brown is an extremely well rounded legal adviser who I would trust to on any complicated dispute. Rick is measured in his advice and is very easy to work with.’

‘David Chalcraft is a standout lawyer  within the team with a wealth of experience. I trust David’s advice and am reassured that he has the client’s interests in mind. David’s attention to detail and diligence is a key strength when working through large, complex disputes.’

‘Very approachable and proactive, business-focused team. Constantly reviewing and refreshing its offering and trying to be as user-friendly as possible.’

‘Rick Brown is excellent – very good with clients.’

‘Andrew Williams is extremely pragmatic and always delivers common sense advice. He has also developed a credible and supportive team, whereby he is able to delegate with authority and confidence.’

‘Anthony Woolich heads this team. Highly experienced and practical, the ultimate safe pair of hands.’

‘Outstanding for arbitration work – the team went into great depths to analyse the complex issues and to find the correct expert in the UK. Day or night, the lawyers were available to discuss all important developments that arose.’

‘HFW has a broad range of sector-specific experience, plus significant volumes of litigation and arbitration claimant-side matters.‘

‘HFW compares very very well. Strong fee-earners, strong back-office support, value-for-money fee rates, and prepared to risk-share.‘

‘Adam Strong is singled out for his ability to run complex multi-track arbitrations.’

‘Damian Honey and Andrew Williams are a class act, with complementary skills in running multi-jurisdictional cases covering the England, BVI and ADGM courts. They provide a strong team with super international reach.’

‘Damian Honey is a clever strategist and excellent client manager. Andrew Williams blends excellent technical knowledge with an approachable style.’

‘Adam Strong is very solid.’

‘Adam Strong – great combination of technical ability, commercial sensitivity and strategic acumen.’

‘They provide sound legal advice, balanced with commercial considerations.’

‘This team has the ability to handle complex insolvency cases, involving multiple jurisdictions.’

‘Simon Jerrum handles complex litigation calmly and with outstanding thoroughness and attention to detail.’

‘Simon Jerrum is exceptionally clever and is able to present the client with practical solutions to complex problems.’

‘Richard Brown is an extremely well rounded legal adviser who I would trust to work alongside me on any complicated dispute. He is very measured in his advice.’

‘David Chalcraft is a standout lawyer within the team, with a wealth of experience. I trust David’s advice and am reassured that he has the client’s interests in mind. David’s attention to detail and diligence is a key strength when working through large, complex disputes.’

‘HFW listen and work collaboratively as though they are an internal business partner.’

‘Justin Whelan as our local partner in Abu Dhabi and provides exceptional client engagement with professional prowess but equally balanced. This is supported by speed of response at all times.’

‘Mr. Plant is very helpful in the sense that he offers his advices while truly being in the position of the contractor, our company. He tries his best to deliver what is requested, but he does not stop there; he offers advice that we did not specifically ask for, but that we truly need. He is also very quick and diligent. There were several times that we had to request for his input on a very tight schedule, but he managed to deliver the best results within the time frame that was given to him.’

‘James Plant delivers good work and provides clear opinions and advice based on the contract.’