Peter Skoufalos – Partner
Mr. Skoufalos concentrates in the areas of commercial and maritime law with an emphasis on arbitration, litigation and other forms of dispute resolution. He represents ship owners, insurers, trading companies, vessel charterers, ship managers and other key players in the maritime transportation sector. Mr. Skoufalos also regularly advises shipping companies on key U.S. legislation that impacts the maritime industry.
Mr. Skoufalos graduated from New York University in 1978, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English Literature. He received his Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law in 1982. He is admitted to practice in the state courts of New York and the federal courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second and Fifth Circuits and in the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Skoufalos is a frequent speaker on a wide range of subjects relating to the marine transportation industry. He has also presented papers on arbitration at the International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators, the Connecticut Maritime Association and the Society of Maritime Arbitrators. Additionally, he has also authored several articles on maritime law issues, including a published article on mediation of shipping disputes [26 Tul. Mar. L.J. 414, 515].
Mr. Skoufalos is a director of the International Refrigerated Transport Association, a Proctor in Admiralty, a member of the Maritime Law Association Sub-Committee on Arbitration and Mediation and a member of the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Skoufalos is fluent in Greek and conversational in Spanish.
NEW YORK OFFICE: 355 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017
NEW JERSEY OFFICE: 1118 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, New Jersey 07013
Email: pskoufalos@browngavalas.com
www.browngavalas.com
Henry Page
Avocat a la Cour
Solicitor of the Supreme Court
Qualified as an English Solicitor in 1977.
Mr Page was in General practice in a firm in England until 1981 when he joined Holman, Fenwick and Willan, the shipping law specialists. He spent approximately 10 years at Holman, Fenwick and Willan, Paris office, dealing with shipping law disputes of all nature including charterparty and Bill of Lading disputes, salvage, conservatory arrest of vessels and other assets, arbitration and court work in different jurisdictions.
He was one of the leading lawyers in the series of Romanian ship arrest cases (Navrom) that constituted a significant development in piercing the corporate veil on a State scale in France, enabling Romanian vessels to be arrested in France for the debts of other Romanian state owned companies. He was also the lawyer acting for the successful party in the important House of Lords case, the Simona (Fercometal v Mediterranean Shipping Company SA, HL 1988) which is one of the leading contract law cases in England.
Mr Page then joined Withers in their Paris office as a partner in 1989. Withers is a firm best known for its private client work but in the Paris office the firm dealt mainly with commercial, contentious and transactional matters including aircraft finance. Mr Page continued his maritime work and developed into other areas including the law of privacy, banking law, Letter of Credit disputes and arbitrations in different jurisdictions.
In 1995 Mr Page was invited to take over as resident partner of Penningtons Law Office in Paris.
In 2005 Penningtons Paris office became a separate entity under the name of Penlaw Selarl due to the fact that Penningtons was changing to LLP status in London , which would have given rise to tax and regulatory complications if the LLP had offices in different countries. Penlaw and Penningtons still work closely together and are associated under a Transnational Agreement.
Mr Page became a French avocat in 1991 and his practice now includes:
Aviation; including aircraft leasing, aircraft finance, contracts and disputes with maintenance providers and other aviation related matters; negotiating maintenance agreements for airframe and engines; regulatory requirements with the DGAC and other aviation law considerations.
Shipping; including Bill of Lading and charterparty disputes, pollution, salvage, sale and purchase and disputes of all nature arising in the context of maritime business.
Banking; including Letter of Credit and guarantee problems as well as regularly advising a number of banks generally including in employment law and in their regulatory requirements.
Advice on tax structures, tax related disputes and certain criminal matters including problems relating to customs and tax authorities.
Acting for and against Sovereign States.
Construction disputes before the ICC and other jurisdictions.
Advising on appropriate structures for holding real property and other private client type matters.
Mr Page, given his dual qualification and residence in France for about 25 years, is well placed to advise clients in matters where more than one jurisdiction is concerned (for example advising English clients on French matters or French/ French speaking clients on English matters). He deals with significant arbitrations and court work in various jurisdictions.
Mr Page has strong connections with the Middle East and acts for Middle East Airlines as well as other airlines, ground handling companies and aviation related enterprises.
He also acts for and against foreign States in disputes relating to a variety of different matters.
Penlaw International Law Firm
23, rue d’Anjou, 75008 Paris
Email: h.page@penlaw.fr
www.penlaw.fr
D.J. Dickinson & Associates
15th Floor, Durban Bay House, 333 Smith Street, Durban 4000
Email: dickyd@yebo.co.za
www.attorneys.co.za/dickinson
Richard Bjerk
Senior Lawyer
Richard Bjerk is a Senior Lawyer at Wikborg Rein’s Bergen office and is part of the firm’s Banking Finance group.
Bjerk’s main areas of practice are issues relating to shipping, fishery, financing and trade industry.
Before he joined Wikborg Rein, Bjerk has been working at the Ministry of Justice as well as Deputy Judge and in the legal department of Den norske Bank ASA.
Wikborg | Rein
Olav. Kyrresgt. 11, 5014 Bergen
Email: rbj@wr.no
www.wr.no/en/
Schjodt
Slottsgaten 3, P.O.Box 4104 Sandviken, NO-5835 Bergen, Norway
www.schjodt.com
Michael Battersby
Director
Michael Battersby is the founder and director of Battersby and Co.
Prior to his legal career, Michael was in business himself, running a successful Auckland landscape design and construction firm for a number of years. He has worked in large national law firms in the corporate, commercial and finance areas, and also has overseas experience in shipping and commercial law.
Michael holds a Masters in Commercial Law from Auckland University and is a member of IPSANZ (Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand). He was Vice-President of the New Zealand Technology Law Society from 2002 to 2007.
Battersby & Co.
Lobby Level, Princes Court, 2 Princes Street, Auckland Central, New Zealand
Email: info@battersby.co.nz
www.battersby.co.nz
Ockie Kruger / David McGregor
MacGregor Stanford Kruger Inc.
5th Floor, MSK House, Corner Riebeek and Buitengracht Streets, Cape Town 8001
Email: reception@macgregs.co.za
www.msklaw.co.za
Norton White Lawyers
Level 4, 66 Hunter Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia
Email: contact@nortonwhite.com
www.nortonwhite.com
Kevin Barry
Director
Kevin qualified from Trinity College Dublin in 1980 with an honours degree in law, and was admitted as a solicitor in 1983.
He has specialised in litigation and dispute resolution, with particular experience in cross frontier litigation, employment issues, property and commercial disputes of all kinds, as well as family and personal injury law for defendants and claimants.
O’Shea Barry Solicitors
4 Wellington Road, Dublin 4
Email: law@osheabarry.com
www.osheabarry.com
Joseph & Partners
Suite J-7-2, Solaris Mont Kiara, Jalan Solaris, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: info@jnplaw.my
www.jnplaw.my
Oscar De la Rosa
Partner
Oscar De la Rosa has considerable trial experience in his diverse civil litigation practice. He has represented public companies, privately-held companies and prominent individuals in a wide range of litigation matters involving energy, banking, health care, catastrophic injury, international trade, civil conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, contracts, deceptive trade practices, defamation, products liability (pharmaceutical), tortious interference with contractual relations, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and legal malpractice. He is fluent in Spanish and has represented international clients headquartered in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia, as well as throughout the United States. Oscar is admitted to practice before the state courts of Texas and the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas.
De La Rosa Law Firm
1330 Post Oak Blvd. Suite 2250, Houston, Texas 77056
Email: odelarosa@delchaum.com
www.delarosalawfirm.com
Dominic Lee
Partner
Solicitor, High Court of Hong Kong
Solicitor, Supreme Court of England and Wales
Professional Experience:
Contractual and commercial matters, intellectual property, international trade, aviation, insurance and reinsurance issues, regulatory regimes and compliance matters, coverage issues, debt restructuring and insolvency.
CdB and JC & Co.
2702, 27th Floor, The Centrium, 60 Wyndham Street, Central Hong Kong
Email: hongkong@cdbjc.hk
www.cdbjc.hk
Robert Hoepel
Lawyer
Shipping & Offshore
After completing the Master’s programme in Civil Law at Leiden University in 2009, Robert Hoepel joined AKD in October of that year. He is a member of the Transport, Insurance and Trade practice group, as well as being a member of the Dutch Association for Maritime and Transport Law (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Zee- en Vervoerrecht/NVZV).
AKD Lawyers & Civil Law Notaries
Wilhelminakade 1 (Maastoren), 3072 AP Rotterdam
Email: rhoepel@akd.nl
www.akd.nl/en
Giovanni Burini
Head of International Department
Graduated in Law at the University of Macerata in 1988.
In 1996 he obtained a Diploma in EC Law (EU Law) from King’s College London and attended a Master in Business Law and International Community to QMW College, London.
In 2004 has completed a PhD in “Discipline and freedom of competition” at the University of Perugia (in consortium with the Luiss University in Rome and Milan’s Bocconi University), entitled “The process of internationalization of antitrust law.”
He also played collaborations teaching (seminars) at the University of Macerata, Faculty of Law, and the Polytechnic University of Marche (Ancona), School of Economics, and taught courses in Italian and EU antitrust law.
Admitted to the Bar of Ancona since 1993.
Languages: English
Areas of professional competence: Italian and EU trade law, domestic and International Contracts, Litigation, Industrial Law.
Studio Legale Andreano
Via dott. Sandro Totti 10-12, Loc. Baraccola , 60131 Ancona (Italy)
Tel: (+39) 071.2510000 Fax: (+39) 071.2908606
www.studioandreano.it
Haco van Oordt
Partner
Haco van der Houven van Oordt (1971) obtained his law degree at the University of Leiden in 1997. He started his career at Nauta Dutilh in Rotterdam and joined the Shipping, Trade and Insurance practice group of AKD Prinsen Van Wijmen in 2001.
Haco specialises in shipping matters, both at sea and on inland waterways. He focuses on marine casualties, shipbuilding, offshore, insurance, cargo and charter party disputes. He regularly deals with ship arrests and has initiated many judicial auctions. He is also called upon in various international trade disputes, and has been lead counsel in several multi-jurisdictional proceedings.
Clients represented by Haco include shipowners, charterers, offshore and dredging companies, shipyards, underwriters, P&I clubs, banks and various trading companies.
Haco is editor of Schip en Schade, the national maritime and transport law report.
International Law Office
Wilhelminakade 1, 3072 AP Rotterdam, Netherlands
Tel: 31 88 253 50 00 Fax: 31 88 253 54 00
Email: hvanoordt@akd.nl
www.internationallawoffice.com/directory
Arne Steltzer
Arne studied law at the universities of Bremen and Hamburg. Upon completion of his “Master of Laws in Shipping Law” at the University of Cape Town, he has focused on all aspects of maritime law, in a vartiety of settings.
Arne has gained substantial practical experience while working for a well-known marine insurance broker, based in Hamburg, where he supported owners, operators and and charterers trading in the bluewater and brownwater businesses. He has also worked in-house for a leading marine finance bank specialising in ship finance and vessel mortgages. Prior to joining Remmers, Meyer, and Robra, Arne spent time practicing maritime law for a well known firm in Hamburg, but as a native of Leer, he wanted to move back to his home town. When the opportunity arose, he quickly decided it was time to return home. Arne’s practical knowledge, experience, and professional contacts he has built through the years provides him with a decided edge in the practice of maritime law and assisting clients whether it be advising about marine insurance issues, casualties, ship collisions, cargo claims, charter party issues, arrest of ships, vessel construction, acquisition or financing.
In addition to shipping and transport law, Arne has experience with commercial, banking, insolvency, and corporate law.
Remmers, Robra & Meyer
Am Alten Handelshafen 2, 26789 Leer, Germany
Tel: 0049 (0) 491 / 99 75 990 Fax: 0049 (0) 491 / 99 75 99 77
Email: info@nesse-kanzlei.de
www.nesse-kanzlei.de
David S. Bland
Member
David’s core practice areas include construction-related advices and litigation, and complex commercial, admiralty and insurance litigation. He primarily represents onshore and offshore energy and marine contractors, shipyards, marine and rig fabrication facilities, pipeline construction companies and engineering firms.
David has extensive experience in the prosecution and defense of complex commercial, construction, maritime and insurance cases in federal, state and appellate courts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, the United States Court of Federal Claims, as well as domestic and international arbitrations, including proceedings before the American Arbitration Association, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and International Chamber of Commerce. His litigation and arbitration experience has included the preparation and trial of delay, disruption and acceleration claims, warranty claims, design changes and growth in scope of work, force majeure, schedule and liquidated damage claims, change order disputes, builder’s risk and insurance coverage disputes.
A related area of David’s expertise involves the negotiation and drafting of all types of construction and commercial contracts, including vessel, rig, pipeline and equipment new construction and repair contracts, EPC contracts, engineering contracts, master service agreements, sales agreements, charter party contracts, joint ventures and project teaming/alliance agreements.
David’s practice also includes maritime and land-based casualty and personal injury defense litigation, including Jones Act, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, protection and indemnity, hull, cargo, collision and property damage claims.
Le Blanc Bland
1717 St James Place, Suite 360, Houston, Texas 77056
Tel: 713.627.7100 Fax: 713.627.7148
Email: dbland@leblancbland.com
www.leblancbland.com
Alejandro Vega
Lawyer, founding partner of VEGA & Co.
Before setting up the firm, Alejandro worked as a marine insurance broker and legal consultant. He worked in Argentina, giving legal and insurance advice to major transport operators such as ports, forwarding agents and shipping companies based in South America. In London, he worked with Clyde & Co dealing with arbitration procedures in Hong Kong and charterparty agreements. He also worked at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) doing research in Oil Rigs Liabilities. This allowed him to meet representatives of major organizations such as IUMI, International Group of P&I Clubs, Intertanko, CMI and delegates from different countries who are now in contact with the firm. Throughout his career he has visited and worked with UK law firms, P&I clubs and Marine Insurance Brokers.
His position within the firm involves advising clients on legal matters and risk management requirements, helping them to determine the best way to manage risk, and negotiating insurance policies with marine insurers. His position also involves handling disputes and claims relating to P&I and all types of transport and shipping issues, charterparties and bills of lading, as well as port’s liabilities, international sale of goods and insurance policy disputes.
Academic background: He is director of the Maritime and Transport law bulletin of the law newspaper “ElDial.com”http://www.eldial.com.ar/nuevo/suple-maritimo.asp (which is now part of the IMO website’s links). He has written many articles on maritime and insurance law. He also contributes as columnist of the international commerce section of the major Argentine newspaper
Vega & Co.
25 de Mayo 578 Piso 4º (C1002ABL), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Argentina
Tel: 0054-114314 0866 Mob: 0054- 911- 5962.1655
www.tradeshippinglaw.com.ar
Vassilis
www.otenet.gr
Víctor Eduardo Aizpurúa Berroa
Lacayo & Levy
Vallarino Building, 11th Floor, Elvira Mendez St., Apdo. Postal 0816-01481,
Panamá, Republic of Panamá
Phone: (507) 269-5658
Email: vaizpurua@lacayolevy.com
www.lacayolevy.com