HFW Continues To Expand Greek Ship Finance Offering With Leading Piraeus Team Hire
Global, sector-focused law firm HFW has continued to expand its Greek ship finance offering with the hire of a leading team in Piraeus, led by partners Robin Parry and Ronan Le Du.
Robin and Ronan each have decades of experience on ship finance matters and join HFW alongside a team of six lawyers and three business services professionals from Ince, where Robin was head of the finance practice in Greece.
This follows HFW’s recent recruitment in Piraeus of legal director and ship finance expert Antonella Karalis from Australian bank ANZ. The latest move makes HFW one of the largest ship finance teams in Greece.
Dimitri Vassos, Head of Piraeus Office, HFW:
“Robin and the team are go-to advisors for ship finance in Greece, and we are very pleased to welcome them to HFW. Following Antonella’s arrival earlier this year, this is another significant step in the development of our transactional capabilities in Piraeus, to complement our pre-eminence in shipping litigation. We also see strong synergies between the new team and our global ship finance practice, and particularly with our teams in London, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore. We will look to continue to add top-quality partners and teams in Piraeus to further strengthen our offering to clients.”
Robin, Ronan and the team specialise in ship finance and transactional shipping matters, acting for a wide range of Greek and international lenders, financiers and owners, including banks and investment funds.
They advise on documenting and negotiating loan and security documentation for all types of syndicated and bilateral, pre- and post-delivery financings and club deals, as well as on restructuring and rescheduling arrangements for existing facilities.
Robin is ranked by The Legal 500 in the ‘Hall of Fame’ for shipping finance in Greece, with Ronan ranked as one of the market’s four ‘Leading Individuals’.
Robin Parry, Partner, HFW:
“HFW is the clear market leader for shipping globally – no other law firm has the same combination of sector expertise and international reach, thanks to its network of expert shipping teams around the world. As a shipping lawyer, there is no finer place to work, and HFW gives our team the best possible platform on which to grow. We are very excited to work with HFW’s existing ship finance lawyers in Piraeus and as part of the wider global team to continue to build the practice.”
HFW is widely recognised as the world’s leading shipping practice and has been advising clients in the sector for more than 140 years. The firm has over 200 shipping lawyers and 13 Master Mariners throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, specialising in dry shipping, admiralty and crisis management, and transactional work for clients across the industry.
HFW has more top-tier rankings for shipping in legal directories Chambers and The Legal 500 than any other law firm, and was recently named by The Times as one of the market’s top maritime practices.
The arrival of the Piraeus team continues a period of sustained growth for HFW globally, with the firm adding 30 new partners since the beginning of FY23, including a major team hire in Australia and further laterals in Hong Kong, London, Paris, Riyadh, and Singapore.
HFW also recently launched an office in Shenzhen Qianhai to support its clients in China’s Greater Bay Area.
Source: HFW