New Partners: Rebecca Cawley and Martin Laughton1st Sep 2024

I am delighted to share the news that Rebecca Cawley and Martin Laughton have both been made Partner, from 1st September 2024.

This well-deserved promotion follows years of hard work and proven all-round excellence. It has been a pleasure to see Rebecca and Martin develop from their trainee days to the experienced and dedicated lawyers that they are today.

Rebecca is decisive and solution focused with a keen ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders. If litigation ensues, clients can rely on her pragmatic and sharply analytical approach.

Rebecca has a broad experience of both wet and dry shipping cases and is regarded by clients for her particular expertise in dry work, having advised in relation to a range of contractual disputes arising out of COAs, charterparties and bills of lading. She successfully acted for the owners of the Amalie Essberger in the High Court, securing a decision in which the court rejected the charterer’s attempt to time bar her owner client’s claim for demurrage. Rebecca handles arbitrations on a wide range of matters and regularly leads on responses to complex multi-jurisdictional incidents.

Martin possesses a formidable ability to anticipate problems before they come to bear, furnishing clients with effective and commercial solutions that get to the heart of the matter to avoid lengthy drawn-out litigation.

Martin regularly represents clients in the Admiralty Court, Commercial Court, and Court of Appeal, and has worked on arbitral matters conducted according to LMAA, LCIA, LSSA and ad hoc procedures and a variety of ADR procedures. He specialises in handling collision cases including for the successful ship on the Wilforce, the first case in which the Admiralty Court had considered responsibility for a collision in a Precautionary Area. He also advises on dry shipping matters and is particularly regarded by clients for his experience in handling dangerous cargo cases. Martin has a strong record of advising on unsafe port matters, charter party disputes, and salvage claims.

I wholeheartedly welcome Rebecca and Martin as Partners at Stann in this new chapter of their careers.

Faz Peermohamed