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Explore Opportunities in Maritime Legal and Claims Professions

Legal and Insurance claims roles work together to resolve insurance claims, particularly in more complex cases or disputes. Each plays a distinct but complementary role in the claims process.

A Shipping or Maritime Lawyer can mean any one of many things. Dry Shipping lawyers deal with contractual and commercial matters, whilst wet shipping lawyers handle matters relating to collisions, sinkings, groundings, salvage and pollution.

Dry Shipping Lawyers are either contentious (litigators) or non-contentious. Dry shipping litigators deal with contract disputes such as charter parties, bills of lading, cargo claims, ship arrests and construction disputes. Non-contentious lawyers focus on the drafting and wording of various documents or policies, as well as transactions (Sale & Purchase for example).

Wet Shipping Lawyers, also known as Admiralty Lawyers, deal with collisions, sinkings, groundings, salvage, and pollution and tend to have seafaring backgrounds.

There are also Ship Finance Lawyers who represent banking and shipping clients in relation to traditional ship finance transactions and more complicated leasing and taxation structures. 

Insurance claims roles are found in P&I clubs. P&I insurance is a marine liability insurance for Shipowners and Charterers.  Examples of insurance claims include damage to cargo, repatriation of stowaways, pollution liability, customs fines, personal injuries sustained by crew or passengers, damage to docks, and collision liability.

P&I Clubs will also offer defence or FD&D (Freight, Demurrage and Defence) cover which is insurance for the cost of legal disputes which are otherwise uninsured.

P&I clubs are not-for-profit mutual insurance organisations, meaning they are owned by their insured ‘members’ who effectively insure each other as a group. 90% of the world’s shipping is insured by one of the twelve P&I Clubs who belong to the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG).  The remainder is either uninsured or obtains insurance coverage for its marine liabilities from other ‘fixed premium’ insurance providers.

At Spinnaker we are here to help with your next Legal or Insurance Claims job role.

Example Job Descriptions

Maritime Lawyer

In England at least, the umbrella term is ‘Lawyer’.  Within that we have Solicitors and Barristers. In the most simple of terms Solicitors deal with, and represent the clients. Barristers are appointed via a solicitor to represent those clients in court. 

Solicitors (and in the US, ‘Attorneys’) work in law firms, which are partnerships as opposed to limited companies.  They are said to be in private practice.  Barristers work in chambers, and they are self-employed.

Claims Handler

P&I Clubs employ larger numbers of qualified Solicitors to work as claims handlers. This role primarily defends the claims of the owners by providing sensitive, responsive, imaginative and cost-effective responses and support to claims issues.

Loss Prevention Manager

In a P&I (Protection and Indemnity) club, a Loss Prevention Manager will focus on minimising claims and reducing risks for members. They analyse accident data, identify potential hazards, and develop strategies to improve safety and operational practices. Responsibilities include conducting safety audits, providing training and guidance to ship operators, and implementing best practices to prevent incidents. Their goal is to enhance maritime safety and reduce the frequency and severity of insurance claims.

Example Job Titles

Associate, Assistant Solicitor, Attorney, Barrister, Case Handler, Claims Assistant, Claims Director, Claims Executive, Claims Handler, Claims Manager, Claims Officer, Dry Shipping Lawyer, FD&D Lawyer, General Counsel, Head of Claims, In-house Counsel, In-house Lawyer, Lawyer, Legal Counsel, Legal Director, Loss Prevention, Loss Prevention Manager, Maritime Lawyer, Marine Disputes, P&I Claims Director, P&I Claims Handler, Partner, Paralegal, Senior Associate, Shipping Associate, Shipping Solicitor, Solicitor, Survey Executive, Underwriter, Wet Shipping Lawyer.

Where can I work in a legal or claims role?

Broadly law firms, P&I clubs, shipowners, chartering/trading groups, oil companies, banks, insurance companies, claims consultancies, recovery agents.

For insurance positions, the main hub for P&I clubs is London although other clubs, or club offices, can be found in Newcastle (United Kingdom), Hong Kong, Singapore, Piraeus (Greece), Oslo (Norway), Arendal (Norway), Gothenburg (Sweden), Miami & New York (USA) and Sydney (Australia).

Key Skills and Experience (Legal)

  • The traditional route to qualifying as a lawyer is a law degree (LLB) followed by the one-year Legal Practice Course (LPC) leading to a 2-year training contract, after which you become qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales. If you don’t have a law degree, you can do a one-year conversion course called GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law), followed then by the LPC and training contract.
  • A new route to qualification has been introduced recently. Upon completion of a degree (in any subject) you must pass both stages of the SQE assessment and have 2 years’ full time (or equivalent) qualifying work experience.
  • Barristers, instead of doing the LPC, take the Bar Vocational Course (BVC), commonly known as the Bar Finals. This is a one-year course and is followed by two six-month ‘pupillages’.
  • Seagoing experience is not necessary although some master mariners work as ‘marine’ or ‘admiralty managers’ in law firms, where they practice wet shipping law. Many of them have no legal qualifications at all and although they are not lawyers as such, they do a full legal job, learning on the job as they go. Ironically, because of their seafaring experience, they often get involved in many of the big-news marine casualties.

Key Skills and Experience (Insurance Claims)

  • Loss prevention staff are usually former senior deck officers. P&I Clubs look kindly upon law graduates and those with shipping degrees. 
  • Many lawyers work in claims roles, either combining P&I and FD&D claims handling or just doing one or the other. 
  • Claims handling roles generally require education to degree standard and although you don’t necessarily need any particular qualification, both the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) offer courses and qualifications for future Claims Handlers and anyone planning a career in the insurance industry.
  • Claims handlers need to have personality, discretion and good communication skills as it’s important to persuade underwriters to take a piece of business or to pay a claim.

Ready to search for your next career in Legal & Insurance Claims?

Get in touch 

To find out more about Legal & Insurance Claims jobs, please get in touch with the team who specialise in these vacancies.

Hayley Menere

Principal Recruitment Consultant

+44 (0)1702 481642

Clementine Matiwaza

Recruitment Resourcer

+44 (0)1702 481646

Jay Farr

Recruitment Resourcer

+44 (0)1702 481641

Megan provided a clear and precise overview of the job description, thoroughly explaining the company’s requirements and expectations. She took the time to understand the candidates’ needs and preferences, ensuring that all aspects were covered. Additionally, she outlined the next steps in the process, making it easy for everyone involved to know what to expect moving forward. Her attention to detail and commitment to effective communication greatly enhanced the overall experience.

Megan was a pleasure to work with. She was prompt and responsive, providing regular updates. Her communication was genuinely empathetic and sincere. The highlight of the experience was her honesty and transparency; even while on holiday, she maintained her regular check-ins. She is a true professional, dedicated to delivering high-quality results.

Ashwin Balachandar
Regional Head, Operations/Logistics/Procurement

Latest Legal & Insurance Claims Roles

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