Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS

Managing Partner: Chris Grieveson

Partners: 12

Non-partners (including trainee solicitors and paralegals): 39

London total: 62

Established in 1923, Wikborg Rein now commands a formidable presence with over 240 lawyers across our global network of offices in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, London, Singapore, and Shanghai. Renowned as a leading international law firm, we deliver unparalleled full-service commercial advice to world-recognised brands across various industries.

The London office, established in 1987, functions as the cornerstone of Wikborg Rein's global English law practice. This office, together with our teams in other international locations, comprises over 70 English qualified lawyers.

London is home to a large specialised shipping and offshore team, supported by its colleagues based internationally. The team is sector-focussed, and the majority of its lawyers have commercial experience in-house. Wikborg Rein’s clients come to the firm for strategic, sector-specific advice, and clear, creative solutions.

The team are leaders in transport, shipping, infrastructure, construction, energy, trade, commodities, insurance, and aviation. Within those sectors, they have unique experience with projects, finance, commercial contracts, alternative dispute resolution, commercial litigation, fraud and asset recovery. The team is closely aligned with many major brands with these sectors and have an excellent understanding of the commercial dynamics that drive the industries they work within.

Main Areas of Practice

Shipping & Offshore: 

Wikborg Rein provides advice and assistance for the entire life cycle of shipping and offshore assets. It has an international emergency-response team to deal with collisions, groundings, fires, piracy and other casualties with mariner support on hand. The London team has significant experience in handling ‘dry shipping’ disputes and deals. This includes finance, shipbuilding, logistics, charters and bills of lading. It also has supporting expertise in areas such as sanctions, data and regulatory matters. Wikborg Rein has particular expertise in the Greek, having acted for the largest Greek shipping groups.

Superyachts: 

The yacht team has extensive experience in providing ‘project counsel’ advice for ongoing builds and conversions of super-yachts, as well as in relation to high value, complex yacht-building, sale and charter disputes. This is an important and growing area for the firm, with a team bolstered by lateral hires from other highly regarded teams.

Construction: 

Wikborg Rein’s contentious construction team advises on all phases of building and construction projects, ranging from the initial tender phase to possible dispute resolution following completed projects. The firm has a wide practice and undertake international arbitration and litigation to resolve construction disputes worldwide.

Oil & Gas: 

Wikborg Rein has demonstrated strength in the regulatory aspects of the oil and gas industry, project development matters including FPSO projects, corporate transactions, oil service contracts and decommissioning work.

Commodities: 

Wikborg Rein covers the entire trading lifecycle, including projects, finance, production, sale and purchase, storage and transportation. Its lawyers work with traders, shippers, financiers and insurers for energy commodities, chemicals, metals and softs. Wikborg Rein has a highly specialised team of experts for LNG work, and has stand-out experience in FLNG projects in particular.

Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Enforcement & Asset Recovery:

The disputes team covers all of Wikborg Rein’s core sectors, together with general commercial work and construction/ infrastructure. The firm has a strong focus on enforcement and asset recovery. Its advice is realistic, creative and focussed on commercial results. Wikborg Rein has close connections with insolvency practitioners and foreign lawyers across the world. The firm has this year had enforcement work referred to it that seemed ‘impossible’ and has received praise from clients for using inventive strategies and local connections to achieve major recoveries.

Aviation: 

The team are renowned for its extensive expertise in the aviation industry, particularly in understanding the complexities of the aviation insurance sector. It has long-standing experience including a variety of matters, highlighting versatility and depth of knowledge.Their focus is predominantly on handling high-stakes liability cases and they excel in resolving commercial disputes within the aviation industry. The practice is grounded in English law, yet capabilities extend far beyond, adeptly manage cases involving multiple jurisdictions and various legal frameworks.