Helmsman LLC‘s shipping group focuses on litigious work, ranging from charterparty and bill of lading cases, to marine casualties and joint venture disputes. The core team is supported by the firm’s corporate, banking and finance practice group for non-contentious work, such as ship sale and purchase, as well as ship finance work. The ’sharp, witty and commercial‘ Maureen Poh heads up the offering, with a practice which straddles both contentious and advisory matters. Ian Teo and Chen Zhida, both of whom have significant litigation and arbitration capabilities, round out the roster of recommended practitioners.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Billing & efficiency
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘An outstanding and responsive team.’
‘Highly knowledgeable and take pragmatic approaches when working on complex matters.’
‘Maureen Poh is sharp, witty and commercial in her approach. A delight to interact with.’
‘Prompt in all action and able to proceed and produce needed documentation in time, even with short notice.’
‘Maureen Poh has been known to us for a while and is catching the point extremely fast and on top of legal advice is able to make it fully adequate to commercial purposes. This commercial fine tuning is a real plus. She succeeds in making you feel she is your team member.’
'Helmsman delivers as promised and has superb response times.'
'Chen Zhida is an industry leader in delivering as promised on-time and on-budget.'
'Helmsman Law Firm combines deep multi-disciplinary expertise with innovative legal technology and flexible client service. The team is approachable, commercially-minded and proactive, making them a trusted choice for complex disputes and business needs.'
Key clients
- United Overseas Bank Limited
- QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
- Straits Bunkering Pte. Ltd.
- Unifeeder FZCO
- PACC Line Pte Ltd
- Tata NYK Shipping Pte Ltd
- JSW International Tradecorp Pte Ltd
- Xiamen C&D Nonferrous Metal Resources Co. Ltd.
Work highlights
Advising Straits Bunkering Pte. Ltd. and QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., as owners and insurers of MARINE HONOUR respectively, in relation to an oil pollution incident in Singapore waters resulting from the collision between MARINE HONOUR and VOX MAXIMA.
Representing United Overseas Bank Ltd in a $40m misdelivery claim against Maersk Tankers.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Maureen Poh
Other key lawyers
Ian Teo; Chen Zhida