Mr Ed Watt > Addleshaw Goddard > Edinburgh, Scotland > Lawyer Profile
Addleshaw Goddard Offices
EXCHANGE TOWER
19 CANNING STREET
EDINBURGH
EH3 8EH
Scotland
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Mr Ed Watt
Work Department
Shipping.
Position
Ed is a recognised leading commercial shipping lawyer and head of the firm’s shipping group. Ed has acted in the sale or purchase and registration of more than 200 vessels, and is a recognised expert in dual registration of ships in the Caspian Sea. With an international practice acting for ship owners, builders and banks, Ed has led negotiations and completions in over 20 countries. His experience covers the full range of transactional and commercial needs of clients in the shipping, offshore renewable energy, and oil & gas sectors. He specialises in the sale, purchase and registration of ships, in particular offshore vessels; commercial agreements, time charters and tender negotiations for major projects; ship building contracts and complex bareboat lease structures. “Ed Watt continues to operate on an almost bewildering international scale” Scotsman Legal Review
Career
Trained HBJ Gateley; qualified 1999; partner HBJ Gateley 2005 to date, head of shipping 2008. Publications of note: co-author of ‘Ship Registration: Law and Practice’ (Lloyd’s Shipping Law Library – Informa, 2009 2nd edition, 3rd edition forthcoming).
Education
George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh; University of Edinburgh (1996 LLB Hons; 1997 Dip LP); University of London (2001 LLM merit).
Lawyer Rankings
Scotland > Transport
(Leading individuals)The transport group at Addleshaw Goddard consists of specialists across key sectors from rail and aviation to ports and shipping, advising major domestic and international clients on significant multi-jurisdictional projects. Ed Watt covers the full range of transactional and commercial shipping work, while Suzanne Moir has been involved in several major Scottish transport projects, including Design, Build, Finance, Operate & maintenance (DBFO) road and free-flow tolling schemes, bridges, light rail and lifeline ferry services. Leading the planning and infrastructure consenting team is Sarah Baillie, who is highly sought after by operators, public authorities, developers and landowners to advise across harbour, airport and canal projects. Carrie Armstrong , Ian Le Pelley, Sam Price, Chloe Oakshett, and Sophie Black are also key contacts.
London > Finance > Transport finance and leasing
Leveraging ‘deep knowledge’ of the sector, both out of core regional offices, and London, Addleshaw Goddard provides ‘commercially sensible’ advice to lessors, lessees, lenders and operators. The arrival of vastly experienced partner Simon Gwynne from Norton Rose Fulbright in May 2022 enhances the firm’s capabilities at handling big-ticket leasing/asset finance mandates. Although Gwynne is best-known for his work within the rail sector, he is also noted for his ‘valuable insight into how leasing constructs in other sectors could be relevant’. This was exemplified by his recent advice to Rock Road developing a debt and equity funding solution on the first non-recourse SPV financing of zero-emission buses in the UK. Ed Watt in Edinburgh spearheads the firm’s efforts on the ship finance front, while in Manchester, Andrew Maskill is noted for his mid-market leasing work, which includes some transport assets, in addition to equipment and machinery.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Edinburgh and Glasgow
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Energy (excluding oil and gas)
- Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Projects
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Banking and finance
- Real estate > Commercial property: Edinburgh and Glasgow
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: elsewhere in Scotland
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Transport
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation
- Real estate > Construction
- Dispute resolution > Debt recovery
- Public sector > Local government
- Real estate > Planning
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Employment > Employment