1 August, 2020
1 – Tony Goldsmith announced as new head of marine at law firm Hill Dickinson as David Wareing steps down
2 – Andrew Lee to head Hill Dickinson’s Singapore office as Tony Goldsmith returns to London
Tony Goldsmith announced as new head of marine at law firm Hill Dickinson as David Wareing steps down
Tony Goldsmith, partner, master mariner and marine casualty specialist at Hill Dickinson, has been appointed as head of the firm’s Marine and Trade division.
Mr Goldsmith will succeed the firm’s current head of marine, David Wareing, who is due to retire in the autumn, having held the position since 2017.
Mr Goldsmith, a former seagoing master mariner (class 1), joined Hill Dickinson in 1993 and became founder and managing partner of the firm’s Singapore office when it opened in 2009. He will return to the UK later this year to take up his new post.
Commenting on his appointment, Tony Goldsmith said: ‘I am absolutely delighted to be taking over the helm from David, with the full support of the team. Our Marine Group has benefited hugely from David’s wise stewardship, helping to reinforce our position as an industry leader in the many sectors for which we are known. There are exciting and challenging times ahead as the world emerges from lockdown, and it is a privilege that I have been entrusted to take over the baton.”
Hill Dickinson chief executive Peter Jackson said: ‘Tony Goldsmith is hugely respected as a maritime law specialist, particularly in the field of marine casualty, and he is absolutely the right man to succeed our outgoing head of marine, David Wareing. Hill Dickinson’s reputation was built on our expertise in maritime law and it remains one of the cornerstones of who we are today.
‘Under David’s watch we have successfully transformed our marine law offering to meet changing client needs in the highly innovative, increasingly digitalised and environmentally-aware sector we now operate in. In succeeding David as guardian of our reputation and the man charged with taking our marine business forward in this new decade, both I and the board of Hill Dickinson extend our warmest congratulations to Tony and look forward to exciting times ahead.’
Before joining the then-named Hill Taylor Dickinson in 1993, Mr Goldsmith was a deck officer with Ocean Fleets, sailing on tankers, bulk carriers and general cargo vessels. Following time spent working on offshore vessels in the North Sea, he began studying for his LLB at Queen Mary and Westfield College, London in 1989, passing his Law Society finals with distinction in 1994.
Tony Goldsmith is regularly instructed by the leading P&I clubs, hull underwriters and owners and operators of vessels to protect their interests following casualties. These include collisions, groundings, fires, structural failures and sinkings. As legal adviser to one of the largest salvage and wreck removal companies for over 20 years, he has been involved in some of the world’s largest vessel recovery operations, including the ill-fated "COSTA CONCORDIA".
He is on the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) panel of arbitrators, and is a mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre. His professional affiliations include being a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights.
Mr Goldsmith will be succeeded in the firm’s Singapore office by marine trade and energy partner, Andrew Lee. M
Andrew Lee to head Hill Dickinson’s Singapore office as Tony Goldsmith returns to London
Andrew Lee, a partner in Hill Dickinson’s Marine and Trade team, based in Singapore, has been announced as the new head of the office. He succeeds Tony Goldsmith, who will return to London permanently following confirmation of his promotion to head of the Marine and Trade division.
Mr Lee has been with Hill Dickinson and its merger firm, Hill Taylor Dickinson, since the start of his legal career in 2001. He worked for the firm in London and Dubai before relocating to Singapore in 2009 as a co-founder of the firm’s new office, making partner in 2010.
Commenting on his new role Mr Lee said: ‘I am pleased to have been appointed as head of Hill Dickinson’s Singapore practice. Despite the severe disruption to the markets created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore remains one of the world’s most vibrant maritime centres, and as a leading maritime law firm it is a tremendously exciting place to be.
‘Tony has overseen a period of rapid growth of our Singapore office, having expanded the practice from just two lawyers to 15 during his time as office head. As the sector begins to recover, I am very much looking forward to managing our next phase of growth.’
Andrew Lee is a maritime and trade disputes expert with a focus on shipping, commodities, offshore / marine construction and insurance.
He completed his law degree in 1998 at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, thereafter studying for his LPC at the College of Law in Chester, United Kingdom.
Hill Dickinson’s Singapore office retains one of the largest and busiest admiralty teams of all the international firms represented in the world’s top shipping centre. The practice has broadened considerably in recent years to provide its clients with access to the full range of services within the firm’s marine, trade and energy practice.
Clients include many of the International Group P&I clubs, major shipowners and hull insurers, and leading names in the trade and energy sectors.
