25 November – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – It is with great pleasure that Holman Fenwick & Willan announces that Peter Rees Smith is returning to full time practice, as a consultant, and will be based in the Shanghai office. Peter will be covering our charterparty, bill of lading, salvage and casualty practice.
Peter retired in 2003 after 25 years maritime practice as a partner, for the most part in our Hong Kong office where he was Managing Partner for many years. He has since been surprisingly busy as a part-time consultant working in the Caribbean and London for us and he will now be much more active in Shanghai. Peter will be working in our Hong Kong office in December before becoming permanently resident in the Shanghai office as from Chinese New Year in February 2006.
The Shanghai office will be managed by Henry Fung currently in our Hong Kong office. Henry is a corporate maritime specialist and he will head a team providing general corporate services to our clients in Shanghai. He will be in the office in Shanghai from early December.
These changes have been precipitated by our current resident partner in Shanghai, Andrew Cutler, deciding to return to London. He will be leaving us at the end of December 2005 to return to the P&I world. He will depart with our very best wishes and our gratitude to him for his sterling efforts in Hong Kong and Shanghai over the last 10 years.
In light of Andrew’s departure we reviewed our service offering in Shanghai and we are taking the opportunity now of widening the services provided by this office.
Hugh Livingstone, Shipping & Transport Group Head comments ‘it is great news that Peter is rejoining our Asia Pacific team. His wealth of maritime experience coupled with his knowledge of the region is unparalleled and a real asset for clients and the firm. It is also very rewarding that one of our younger Partners is now ready to take on the management of the Shanghai office and develop further our commercial services with our clients in Shanghai and China’.
