News / 18-01-2022 / Beijing, Hong Kong

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 results have been published; our shipping practice in China and Hong Kong retained their Tier 1 ranking, and partners Paul Ho and David Beaves were ranked in the "Hall of Fame" for a second consecutive year since its inception in 2020. Rosita Lau was also ranked in the “Hall of Fame” for a third consecutive year. Ince has the largest number of “Hall of Fame” shipping lawyers from a single firm on the list.

Furthermore, our new partners Ruaridh Guy and Richard Oakley have been ranked as the Next Generation Partners in Shipping in Hong Kong for the first time, and Lorraine Mok was recognised as a Rising Star in Ship Finance.

The Legal 500 quotes:

The 'very attentive and knowledgeable' team at Ince has 'an encyclopaedic knowledge of shipping law' and provides 'sound and pragmatic advice' across the panoply of wet and dry shipping matters. Its client roster includes shipowners, port and terminal owners, and P&I clubs. Ince‘s full-service shipping practice handles a plethora of shipping work, as well as associated areas, including litigation, corporate, regulatory and finance matters.

The 'vastly experienced'  Rosita Lau has a strong track record in handling shipping litigation and arbitration, and she is also accomplished in mediation.

The 'very commercial' Max Cross is another senior member of the team, who has built up a very strong reputation arresting ships and securing their release, and he is also instructed in complex multijurisdictional fraud disputes.

Senior Partner David Beaves has a transactional focus to his practice, including finance, corporate and commercial matters that intersect with the shipping sector.

Ince has a strong presence in the insurance sector, as is reflected by the fact that it acts for insurers, reinsurers, brokers and policy holders, among many other clients. Its workload covers a broad cross-section of contentious and non-contentious matters, such as M&A, regulatory compliance, corporate governance and product liability.

Kelvin Lee co-heads the practice with Rosita Lau, who is an expert in transportation-related insurance issues, as well as those concerning heavy machinery, property damage and personal injury.

At the more junior end of the spectrum, recently-promoted Partner Ruaridh Guy has 'much more experience than his age would show'. Master Mariner Richard Oakley is another name to note.

Client testimonials include:

• ‘It is one of the top shipping firms – they have an encyclopaedic knowledge of shipping law – hugely experienced.’

• ‘I have always found the team to be prepared, involved, detail-oriented and strategic. They are a pleasure to work with and have deep knowledge of the shipping business.’

• ‘The lawyers give sound and pragmatic advice.’

• ‘The team is very attentive and knowledgeable.‘

• ‘Max Cross is the stand-out partner. Clients love him, and he has a very commercial approach to cases.’

• ‘Ruaridh Guy is a brilliant young partner. He has much more experience than his age would show, and he is a pleasure to work with.’

• ‘Ruaridh Guy is our go-to attorney for maritime claims matters. His depth and breadth of legal skills set him in a tier of its own.’

• ‘Ruaridh Guy is capable of providing accurate and practical legal advice within a very short timeframe. He has very high awareness on the client’s business needs, and clients have high regard to the legal services he has rendered.’