Katherine Birchall
The in-house team of freight, demurrage and defence (FD&D) lawyers at North P&I Club has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Litigation Team Award at the prestigious 2017 European Counsel Awards. The awards, organised by Lexology and the International Law Office (ILO), together with the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), identify and recognise the very best in-house legal teams based in Europe.
To identify the finalists in each category, the independent research team conducted an in-depth analysis of in-house lawyers and legal departments worldwide, receiving more than 3,500 nominations globally. The respondents were asked to focus on key business criteria such as effective communication, legal understanding, commercial awareness, management skills and the strength and depth of the team. The winner will be announced at a gala dinner in London on 2 March 2017.
Katherine Birchall, global director of North’s FD&D team, says, ‘Our shortlisting for this award has only been possible thanks to the hard work, commitment, skill and dedication of everyone who works in the FD&D team.’
Paul Jennings, North’s joint managing director, comments, ‘To be shortlisted as a finalist for the 2017 Litigation Team Award is a fantastic achievement and is a real testament to the strength and specialist expertise of North’s in-house FD&D team headed by Katherine Birchall.’
With a team of over 30 specialist in-house lawyers, including six in Singapore and four in Piraeus, North’s FD&D team aims to deliver fast, quality legal advice and assistance in all FD&D related matters worldwide. The experienced and qualified legal team includes English solicitors as well as overseas-qualified attorneys and advocates. By solely employing qualified lawyers, the FD&D team is able to deal with the majority of legal issues and disputes in-house.
North P&I Club is a leading global marine insurer providing P&I, FD&D, war risks and ancillary insurance to 133 million GT of owned tonnage. North acquired Sunderland Marine in February 2014 and formed the North Group. Through Sunderland Marine, North is also a leading insurer of fishing vessels, small craft and aquaculture risks. The Standard and Poor’s ‘A’ rated Club is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK with regional offices and subsidiaries in China, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Sunderland Marine offices worldwide. North is a leading member of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG), with 11.5% of the IG’s owned tonnage. The 13 IG clubs provide liability cover for approximately 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage and, as a member of the IG, North protects and promotes the interests of the international shipping industry. For further information visit: www.nepia.com
