International commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has announced the appointment of Mark Johnson, joining the firm’s London office as a corporate commercial partner, bringing with him over 30 years of experience in the maritime and legal fields.
The former naval officer and ship’s captain joins the firm’s commercial shipping team, further consolidating the relationship between Hill Dickinson’s Business Services and Marine groups. Johnson brings extensive experience advising on the construction, conversion, sale and purchase, recycling, financing, management, operation and ownership of all types of vessels, including FSRUs, drilling rigs, wind turbine installation vessels and ferries as well as some of the world’s largest superyachts.
Ranked in the shipping section of Chambers & Partners and recommended in The Legal 500 guide, Johnson will support Hill Dickinson in negotiating and documenting large-scale and complex maritime and offshore projects. He acts for a range of clients from major banks and oil companies to ship owners, leasing companies and shipyards.
Johnson joins from US law firm Haynes and Boone, where he co-headed the firm’s Shipping practice alongside its Autonomous Transportation practice. Prior to that, he spent over ten years at Reed Smith and 12 years in the Royal Navy.
This latest appointment comes at a time of successive growth for Hill Dickinson’s London office and the wider Business Services Group, which has made more than ten lateral partner hires in the past 12 months.
Fiona Parry, head of Business Services Group at Hill Dickinson, said: “Taking a people-first approach is key to our strategy, so following another year of remarkable growth for the firm, our focus is to continue to bolster our Business Services offering through attracting some of the industry’s best senior talent. Mark’s appointment is indicative of the investment we’re making into our London practice as we continue to make strides in the city’s increasingly competitive legal market.”
Rod Palmer, shipping and aviation partner in the London Commercial team, said: “Mark’s addition to our Commercial Shipping team comes at a time when demand for our specialist maritime and offshore financing services is continuing to grow. His reputation in the city and his thorough and in-depth sector knowledge gives us invaluable extra capacity across the full range of banking, lending, sale and purchase and debt financing services in the shipping space. His Royal Navy background also demonstrates the synergies that exists between our different business areas, crossing over very effectively with our Marine Group. I’m looking forward to introducing him to our clients over the coming weeks.”
Mark Johnson, partner at Hill Dickinson, said: “Joining Hill Dickinson, which has such a prestigious history in maritime law, is a very exciting step in my career. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to help guide our clients in all aspects of their English law needs and providing on-the-ground assistance here in England as well as in Greece, Hong Kong and Singapore.”
