HFW

HFW is a leading global law firm specialising in the aerospace, commodities, construction, energy, insurance, and shipping sectors. The firm has approximately 700 lawyers, including 180 partners, operating from offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. HFW is recognised for its deep industry expertise and its entrepreneurial, creative, and collaborative culture.

The firm’s aviation practice advises clients across the sector, including more than 100 airlines worldwide, on complex claims, aviation safety, economic regulation, finance and leasing, competition, and antitrust matters. HFW also provides bespoke aviation mediation services and local advice in Latin America through its cooperation with Brazilian law firm CAL.

HFW’s commodities team comprises over 110 specialist lawyers advising on the international sale of goods, including soft commodities, oil and gas, coal, steel, and non-ferrous and precious metals, as well as related freight matters. Many lawyers have direct industry experience, including secondments with traders and banks active in commodities.

The construction practice supports contractors, owners, consultants, insurers, and financiers on procurement, risk management, and disputes across international projects, including energy, infrastructure, and property sectors. The team also provides project monitoring and client training services and has advised on more than half of all UK offshore windfarm projects.

HFW’s energy team offers transactional and dispute resolution advice across exploration, production, storage, transportation, LNG, refining, electricity generation, renewables, carbon trading, and mining. The team includes specialists with prior industry experience and an emergency response group for offshore incidents.

The insurance and reinsurance practice is a recognised global leader, providing advisory, dispute resolution, transactional, and regulatory services. With almost 100 lawyers, several with insurance industry backgrounds, the firm acts for both markets and policyholders on high-value, complex, multi-party international matters.

HFW is widely regarded as the world’s leading shipping and maritime law firm, with more than 200 lawyers and 13 Master Mariners. The firm specialises in dry shipping, admiralty, crisis management, and transactional work and advised on the MV Ever Given grounding in the Suez Canal.

The firm’s corporate team handles complex domestic and cross-border transactions, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance, advising clients across multiple continents. The disputes practice, representing a major portion of the firm’s revenue, covers litigation, arbitration, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution in multiple sectors, including commercial litigation, fraud, insolvency, investigations, and enforcement actions. HFW is active in major international courts and arbitration hubs and is a founding member of the Greener Litigation Pledge and Greener Arbitration Campaign.

HFW’s finance practice advises on trade and asset finance, project and infrastructure finance, Islamic finance, and financial services regulation, often handling transport-related assets such as shipping, yachts, and corporate jets. The regulatory team advises on corporate governance, environmental regulation, sanctions, commodity derivatives, and business crime, providing guidance on investigations, enforcement actions, and compliance matters.

Offices:

• UK: London
• Europe: Brussels, Geneva, Monaco, Paris, Piraeus
• Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait City, Riyadh
• Asia: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen (opening soon), Singapore
• Australia: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
• Americas: British Virgin Islands, Houston, Rio de Janeiro**, São Paulo**
  Staffing: 71 UK partners, 260 UK lawyers

Team Members: Managing Partner: Jeremy Shebson; Senior Partner: Giles Kavanagh